Knee Pain

Mechanical knee pain is caused by the overuse injuries, wear and tear, referred pain, and bursitis and tendonitis, as well as partial/complete tear of the knee cartilage, partial/complete tear of the knee ligaments, patella tracking problems.

Chiropractors are qualified to diagnose from which of the listed conditions, is the origin of the knee pain. Pain from some of the conditions can be helped by Chiropractic care, rehabilitation exercise and some supportive taping.

Other conservative treatments for the knee include the use of cortisone injections and prescription drugs.

In cases of severe ligament or cartilage tears, where there is a need for a specialist opinion or surgery, our Chiropractors would refer appropriately.

Knee cap pain – this is pain just under the knee cap or around the knee cap. This is due to the weakness of one of the important muscles (the VMO, Vastus Medialis Obliques) that stabilises the knee and tracks the patella as you bend and straighten the knee joint, as it would have to happen when you walk or run.

This condition can be helped with Chiropractic treatment including sports taping and rehabilitation exercise advice. Again the use of Foot Orthotics can be of useful especially if the condition is a long standing condition.

Cartilage Tears – This often occurs in sports injuries or bad falls. You can also get wearing of the cartilage which can give microscopic tears in it with road running, excessive cycling, and work related stress (i.e. plumbers, builders).

Although our Chiropractors cannot directly treat the torn cartilage or the worn cartilage, they can help with reducing the inflammation within the knee joint which can be the cause of the pain when the cartilage has an injury.

Sprain/strain injuries – These are mainly injuries to the ligaments and/or the joint capsule or mild irritation of the cartilage. They again are a result of sporting injuries or falls or repetitive strain from work circumstances.

Ligament Tears – These are relatively uncommon and usually require a severe sports injury or direct impact injury or a twisting injury. Most of these injuries can heal with time and rehabilitation of the knee stabiliser muscles can be very beneficial but some will require surgical repair such as a tear in the Anterior Cruciate Ligament.