When you are suffering from chronic knee pain, you begin to really understand what “chronic” means. More than almost any other kind of joint and musical pain, knee joint pain is truly ever-present.
It’s one of the first things you feel when waking up in the morning — an achy, creaky feeling throbbing dully. You feel it nearly every step and every time you get up off your chair. And it’s right with you when trying to fall asleep, a task made tougher by the constant sensation.
Living with chronic knee pain, then, helps to illustrate the importance of knees in our lives and motion, and the ubiquity with which they are used. And, hopefully, shows the importance of taking care of our knees.
Knee pain can come suddenly or gradually, all at one or throughout the accretion of years. It can be a symptom of a problem or the problem itself. Usually, chronic knee pain is all of these things all at once.
Living with knee pain is a constant challenge. But there are ways to get better, and get your knees working the way you want. After all, life is better when you aren’t always thinking about your knees. It’s better when you can focus on enjoying life.
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Common Causes of Knee Pain
Over 25% of Americans suffer from chronic knee pain of varying severity. Everyone has their own reasons for knee problems.. There’s no one way that everyone develops chronic knee pain.
There are a lot of reasons why people suffer from chronic knee pain. It can happen from a sudden injury that never heals right, but most of the time, it comes
- Knee Injuries (sprained or strained ligaments of muscle)
- Weight gain/weight loss
- Torn cartilage
- Accidental wear and tear
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Arthritis and osteoarthritis
- Gout
- Infections
- Tendonitis
These aren’t the only reasons. You can suffer knee pain from an issue with your gait, with your exercise routine, or just from sitting too much.
The cause is important. The effect impacts every day.
Symptoms of Chronic Knee Pain
Sudden pain is terrible. If you whack your knee on a table, it’s going to hurt. You might be laid up for a day or two. But the pain eventually goes away.
That’s not the case with chronic knee pain. While there are some differing definitions of “chronic”, the most accepted definition is pain that lasts for more than 4-6 months.
What does this pain feel like? Some of the most common symptoms of chronic knee pain include:
- Swelling
- Tenderness
- Sensitivity
It persists. It might not throb with every step, but every step reminds you of this pain. By the end of the day, you might feel like all you want to do is get off your feet, get into a hot or cold bath, put your legs up, and try to not do anything until you have to.
Needless to say, severe chronic knee pain can be personally debilitating. It limits what you can do and what you want to do with your life. That’s why people look to medical advice, including therapy, for real pain relief.
Does Therapy for Chronic Knee Pain Work?
There are a lot of options for treating chronic knee pain. Perhaps the most common one is “ignore it and hope it gets better.” That’s obviously not recommended; that’s not how chronic pain works. But two of the most other common techniques — pain medication and injectables — are also about kicking the can down the road.
Don’t get us wrong; pain medication, anti inflammatories, and injections (which can reduce swelling and increase mobility) can be crucial toward maintaining your lifestyle and living comfortably. If your doctor recommends either of these, they can make a material difference in your life.
But of course, they treat the symptoms, and not the causes. To treat the causes, there are two long-term solutions: surgery and therapy.
Knee replacement used to be fairly rare, but now is done over 600,000 times a year in America alone. That’s because surgeons have gotten extremely good at replacing knees in a way that helps people get on with their lives and have full recoveries.
That leaves therapy. Therapy can help without needing surgery (and of course can help with the surgery recovery process). It’s a long-term and sustainable way of doing more than reducing pain. It can help create good habits and instill more body knowledge so you can live healthier.
When is the best time to start therapy? Right now.
The Reason To Get Started on Knee Pain Therapy Right Away
When you are suffering from knee pain for any reason, your life is harder. Walking, exercising, and living the day-to-day can be a challenge. Despite that, people are often a little nervous about getting started.
Why? There are a lot of reasons. People are worried about the cost, about the time commitment, and about the efficacy. They might think it’s easier to not do anything and hope the pain goes away than to take up the effort of therapy.
But of course, it isn’t easier. It doesn’t make normal movement any easier. And it certainly doesn’t help down the road.
Starting therapy for chronic knee pain as soon as possible is vital. Why?
- Quicker Recovery Time. Start now and potentially see measurable results in a matter of weeks
- Fewer Complications: Injuries can compound, so taking care of it now prevents worse outcomes down the road.
- Better Lifelong Knee Health: Do more than get better: learn how to stay better and live healthier for years to come.
You Don’t Need to See a Doctor To See a Knee Pain Therapist
One myth about therapy is that you absolutely need a prescription. But more often than not, the therapist is better positioned to determine need. That’s why you don’t have to wait to see a doctor before talking to a therapist.
With a Prescription
If a doctor or surgeon prescribes physical therapy following an injury, surgery, or due to chronic pain, don’t wait to reach out. The sooner you get started, the better the results.
Without a Prescription
You don’t need to wait. If your knees are in pain, come see us for an assessment. Our Injury Assessment will help determine if you are ready to start therapy or if you are in need of a specialist.
Frequently Asked Questions About Knee Therapy
Q. If it doesn’t hurt too bad now, can I wait?
A. If your pain is in any way inhibiting function, don’t wait. Waiting makes problems worse, compounds issues, and makes recovery longer and more challenging.
Q. Are there telehealth options?
A. We do. In-person is recommended, since we have more equipment and can better judge progress in person, but have robust and effective telehealth capabilities.
Q. So, why can’t I just do this on my own at home?
A. There are a lot of reasons why in-home, unsupervised therapy is ineffective. Your form may be off, your exercises not effective, and it can be challenging to self-motivate.
Q. What if therapy doesn’t seem to be working?
A. It’s easy to get discouraged without immediate results. But the process is designed to realize gains if you stick with it and put in the effort.
Q. So when will I be 100% fine?
A. Probably never. But therapy will reduce pain as much as possible so you can meet your goals, and continue to progress after therapy.
Q. Is this hard?
A. It can be. But you’re going to be living your life for a lot longer. What you can accomplish, and the amount of comfort you’ll be living in, is up to you. It starts today.
What Chronic Knee Pain Therapy Looks Like
The truth is, therapy is a commitment. But it’s not just a time commitment. It is a commitment you are making to the rest of your life. It’s work that you are doing now in order to have a more full, less painful life years and even decades into the future.
So what does therapy look like? Well, it’s different for each person, because each person’s knees are different.
THE PROCESS
Testing
When you come in, a therapist will perform a thorough assessment of your condition to get an accurate picture of how your knees function and what can be done to improve it. This process can include testing:
- Range of Motion
- Strength
- Posture
- Balance
- Gait
- Pain
No plan comes off the shelf. It comes from you and is built for you.
Goals
What do you hope to get out of therapy? What are you missing in your life? What everyday and long-term activities is your knee pain obstructing?
An outcome analysis is designed around functional deficits. You tell your therapist where you want to be and what you want to do, and they’ll do the work to get there.
Setting the Time Frame
If you’ve been suffering chronic pain, you may have spent years with nagging injuries. It won’t get fixed in a day. A therapy plan should be designed to create real, sustainable progress that builds up strength, motion, and overall knee and leg health.
A common timeframe is 4-6 weeks, with 6-8 weeks being standard for creating real muscle strength. Again, this varies for each individual.
The Actual Routine
Your routine is determined by your therapist, their team, and yourself. No two treatments are alike, but each can include some of these components.
- Exercise (for knees, lots of strength, agility, flexibility and walking exercises)
- Manual (simulating the actual day-to-day activities you want to accomplish)
- Modality (acupuncture, ice bath, massage — as determined by therapist)
Check-Ins
A smart thing to do is to check in after every session to see how you are doing. Ask if you are responding to the therapy, what is working for you, and what isn’t. Your therapist will want to learn if you are feeling closer to your goal.
Therapy can change along with your progress. That’s normal.
Keeping Progress After Therapy
At some point, therapy will end. But that doesn’t mean the end of your recovery. It’s a lifelong effort to stay strong and continue to make healthy decisions.
Home Exercises
Your therapist will set you up with exercises you can do at home to keep your knees strong, flexible, and in a state of steady improvement.
Check-Ins
Check in with your therapist and let them know your progress or if there are exercises that aren’t working. And if something goes wrong, don’t wait. Reach out right away.
Better Knowledge of Your Body
One of the best parts about therapy is you learn what works for your body and what doesn’t, so you can take great care of your knees for years to come.
Your Personalized Therapy Plan: Because Everybody Is Different
When you come into an ATI clinic for your knee pain, you get a personalized, customized plan based around your issues, your goals, and your schedule. This is a long-term plan designed to minimize or eliminate pain and get you back to living the life you want.
It’s not overnight. But it is for the rest of your life.
Book your complimentary screening today and discover what physical therapy can do for you!