Believe it or not, but chiropractors are more than just “back crackers”. In fact, chiropractors possess the ability (and training) to care for a multitude of issues, ranging from back and neck pain to ear infections and fertility issues. It’s these “less obvious” ailments that tend to take people by surprise simply because they’re so used to thinking of chiropractors in the “traditional” (aka, back cracking) sense. And, one of those less traditional areas that chiropractors most definitely treat is knees.Our knees are some seriously complex joints that rely quite heavily on their corresponding ligaments and muscles for stability. Similarly, there are other parts of our body – hips, pelvis, low back, feet, and ankles – that need our knees to function correctly so that they, themselves, can work properly, too. Therefore, when the body perceives pain as coming from our knee(s), all of the associated must be examined as well to see if it’s truly a knee issue causing the pain, or if the knee pain is a symptom of something else.
With that in mind, let’s take a few moments to explore some of the most common causes of knee pain:
Arthritis – One of the most common causes of knee pain is arthritis. Osteoarthritis – which is the most common form of arthritis – is the “wear and tear” type of arthritis and is caused by the degradation of cartilage within the joint over time. Rheumatoid arthritis (an autoimmune disease) causes joints to become severely inflamed and leads to destruction of the surrounding cartilage. Pain, swelling, and stiffness are some of the most common symptoms of arthritis.
Ligaments – Injuries to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and PCL (posterior cruciate ligament) can sprain and cause a significant amount of pain. Sprains of these ligaments are typically due to some type of blow/impact to the knee. If one of the knee ligaments tears, surgery is often in order.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome – This is caused when a tendon becomes inflamed and rubs on the outer knee bone and is often caused by the stress of long-term use (think sports training, marathon training, etc.). Symptoms of iliotibial band syndrome include aching of the joint and/or a “burning” sensation that is typically felt on the outside of the knee which, sometimes, will radiate up the leg.
Other very common causes of knee pain include cartilage, tendon, and meniscus injuries, Osgood-Schlatter disease, and referred pain (which basically means the pain is felt in the knee but is due to a dysfunction somewhere else in the body).
As stated previously, chiropractic treatment may very well be exactly what you’re looking for when it comes to ongoing knee pain. This is especially true if your knee pain is restricting motion and limiting your day-to-day activities. Our treatment is multi-faceted and looks to reduce inflammation and pain and normalize joint function. In fact, there are several manipulation techniques that can be applied to the knee and surrounding joints to assist with an increase in function and movement, and a reduction in pain experienced by the patient.
If knee pain is something that you’ve been struggling with, don’t lose hope – we can help! The doctors here at Fletcher Chiropractic, located in Lincoln, Nebraska, are highly skilled in treating a wide variety of injuries and ailments and would be more than happy to meet with you and work out a treatment plan that’s specific to you. So, give us a call and set up your consultation today!