Knee Pain Treatment in Jacksonville, FL

Your knees are some of your body’s most critical and vulnerable joints. They’re responsible for carrying you through your day, whether you’re doing strenuous exercise, sitting behind a desk… or both. Most cases of knee pain are a combination of age-linked wear and tear and athletic injuries. Knee pain ranks second-highest on the list of common causes of chronic pain, with roughly 33% of Americans will suffer knee pain during their lifetime. In the year 2017 alone, 966,000 knee replacement surgeries were performed!

Some lifestyle factors are known to contribute to the likelihood of knee issues, and gender is one: women develop knee problems more frequently than men do. Those occur for a few reasons: some of the female hormones work to decrease the strength of the ligaments around the knee, they usually have weaker leg muscles, and the pelvic bowl is wider than that of men. Weight is also a risk factor: a person’s knee absorbs an extra four pounds of pressure for every pound overweight they are. Age, overexertion, and tobacco use also increase the risk of developing knee issues.

Chiropractic adjustments to the knee itself can help improve the knee’s range of motion and decrease inflammation in the area. Chiropractic also helps the body better regulate its healing response, increasing the chances of lowering your knee pain. Adjustments help correct postural problems as well, and this helps remove some pressure from your knees by distributing your weight properly. The essential first step in getting you back to feeling great again is a thorough assessment of your current health and symptoms, your history of exercise and accidents, the state of your knees and spine, and your future health goals.

How We Treat Knee Pain in Jacksonville, Florida

Comprehensive Consultation and Exam

At Beyond Bones, our chiropractic evaluation is one of the most important parts of determining if and how we can help you. Because the knee is such a vulnerable and vital joint, many things can cause pain and other issues. With that in mind, we must thoroughly assess what’s going on with your knee. We’ll need to understand exactly what you’re experiencing and what activities or incidents may have caused the problem. On your first visit, we’ll discuss your lifestyle and history to answer those questions.

We’ll also perform any necessary orthopedic, neurological, functional, and chiropractic exams to determine whether or not we can help you. In most cases, we’ll also take X-rays to better understand your situation. In many cases, spinal misalignment issues can put abnormal stresses on your knee joints. That’s another reason we must be thorough; besides problems occurring directly in the knee itself, we must be sure to take care of any postural or alignment-based causes of problems.

Specific Chiropractic Care in Jacksonville, FL

Regular chiropractic care can be a huge part of helping your body heal many different problems, and knee pain is one of those. Nerve pressure caused by subluxation can lead directly to knee pain. Subluxation is a condition of too much stress in your body, leading to nerve pressure. If the nerves in your low back are affected, the result may be knee pain. Chiropractic adjustments keep your spine aligned and functioning correctly, which can help ensure that your knees remain free of pain.

Besides keeping your spine well-adjusted, your chiropractic program may include individualized stretches and exercises. This is because mobilization of the spine and the knee joints can improve their range of motion and help decrease inflammation. In cases of arthritis, it’s essential to keep the joints of the knee moving as much as possible to slow the progression of the damage. At Beyond Bones, we’re grateful that we can get excellent results with knee pain!

Custom Therapeutic Exercise Plan

Muscular imbalance or weakness is a very common cause of knee pain. In cases like this, the primary way to correct the problem is to stabilize the knee joint by strengthening your leg muscles. As a result of your evaluation, we’ll prepare a set of exercises to get your knee as strong as possible.

Keeping your spine and knee well-adjusted is one of the keys to helping give your body the best possible chance at healing. With patience, effort, and adjustments, the joint of the knee can often become strong enough to get you back to a very high level of performance.

Common Causes of Knee Pain

Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury

Four ligaments connect your shin to your lower leg, and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is perhaps the most important. One of the hallmarks of an ACL injury is a ‘popping’ sensation that, in most cases, is heard (or felt). ACL damage is particularly common in people who play sports that require sudden, quick changes in direction: basketball, football, downhill skiing, and soccer are among the most common.

People who tear or otherwise injure their ACL commonly experience swelling and instability in the damaged knee, making it difficult to bear weight on that side. Pain may or may not be present and can vary in intensity. ACL injuries and tears are evaluated by the degree of their severity: Grade 1, 2, or 3. Depending on various factors (including the person’s age, level of athleticism, and the grade of their injury), the injured person may require interventions ranging from more conservative, non-operative ones to surgical solutions.

Torn Meniscus

A crucial part of the knee joint is called the ‘meniscus.’ This is a tough, rubbery piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the thigh bones and the shin. Although tough, the meniscus can tear when under enough stress. Meniscus tears are often caused by a powerful rotation or twist of the knee. Kneeling, heavy lifting, and deep squatting can also cause the meniscus to tear.

A torn meniscus will almost always result in stiffness and swelling of the joint, as well as pain. Treatment generally starts conservatively and progresses toward more invasive options. In many cases, the pain from meniscus tears resolves on its own. In those cases, rest and ice encourage the healing process. Activities in which the knee twists/rotates/pivots should be avoided during the healing period. Therapy can also help strengthen the muscles around the knee so the joint is kept as stable as possible. When rest, ice, and therapy don’t resolve the symptoms of a torn meniscus, surgery may be the last-resort solution.

Patellar Tendonitis

A condition that’s officially called Patellar Tendonitis can cause knee pain. This problem, more commonly known as ‘Jumper’s Knee,’ is caused by tiny tears in the knee’s tendons. Those small tears cause inflammation and irritation. Patellar Tendinitis got its nickname because it’s most common among skiers, runners, cyclists, and people in jumping sports. Somebody suffering from Jumper’s Knee will likely experience pain with the following movements: jumping, running, walking, and straightening or bending the knee. There may also be tenderness behind the lower part of their kneecap.

The best actions to take for cases of Patellar Tendonitis are conservative ones: rest (especially avoiding the activities that may have caused it), ice, compression, elevation, and exercises for stretching and strengthening the knee.

Arthritis

Arthritis is yet another common cause of knee pain. Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis can be to blame. Degenerative arthritis (a type of osteoarthritis, or OA) is the most common type of arthritis. The way to think about it is simple: it’s wear and tear to the joint, and it comes along with stiffness in the knee, loss of mobility, and pain. The repetitive stresses of repeated movement cause joint injury (overuse) and OA.

On the other hand, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune condition. This means that the person’s natural immune defenses attack their own body. With RA, the joint lining is eroded, and the resulting pain can be debilitating. Some lifestyle modifications (including tools that are altered to be easier to grip and changes to how you use/move your body) can help minimize the negative impacts of RA.

Gout is a specific type of inflammatory arthritis. It shares some common symptoms with RA but is different. It typically impacts just one joint at a time and is characterized by episodes called flares (when it’s worse) and remissions (when the symptoms disappear). Gout can generally be controlled with self-management strategies and, in some cases, medication.

Runner’s Knee

‘Runner’s Knee’ is the name given to an overuse condition common among distance runners and other athletes whose activities place high-level, repetitive stress at the front part of the knee. Runner’s Knee is most often experienced as pain at the front of the knee or around and behind the kneecap. The good news is that the repetitive stress of an athlete’s exercise habits causes the soft tissue in the relevant area to become inflamed. In other words, no broken bones, torn tendons, or cartilage damage is involved.

With Runner’s Knee, stiffness is usually felt at the affected knee, often with creaking and cracking noises. Runner’s Knee can almost always be alleviated by resting your knee, applying ice, wrapping your knee, and elevating the joint. Once your knee feels better, stretching and strengthening (particularly the quadriceps muscle) will help return your knee to its highest level of flexibility and strength.

Frequently Asked Questions about Knee Pain