Tag Archive for: IT band

Failed Knee Surgery

Knee Surgery Gone Wrong? It’s More Common Than You Think.

/in , /by

Arthroscopic knee surgery is one of the most common surgeries performed. Despite research telling us that it’s not nearly as effective as most people are led to believe.

Science tells us that people who do undergo arthroscopic knee surgery are likely to have knee arthritis that advances rapidly. This results in a total knee replacement that you could avoid.

Arthroscopic knee surgery is a minimally invasive procedure that’s commonly done to help “clean out” your knee joint. It’s done if  you’ve got degenerative arthritis, or to clip out pieces of a torn meniscus that might be irritating your knee.

Sounds pretty simple and harmless – right?

Well… it is until it isn’t.

The big problem is that arthroscopic knee surgery is not necessary for most cases of knee pain.

If there is a complication – which there are many even with “minimally invasive” procedures – you could end up being worse off than when you went in.

Plus – if you never even needed the surgery to begin with – you just put your knee through unnecessary trauma that you’ve got to now heal from. This further delays you from addressing the root cause of your knee pain.

The truth is that most people can get full relief of their knee pain as well as full restoration of knee function without any type of surgery or procedure. This is true for 70% of all knee pain cases.

An early research study from 2002 by JB Moseley and colleagues, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, revealed that placebo surgery for advanced knee arthritis was just as effective as actual arthroscopic surgery.

Since then, numerous studies have proven similar results. This means that even if you have a torn meniscus or degenerative arthritis in your knee – you can still get better naturally and with conservative treatment.

So why then – despite all this research – are surgeons still performing arthroscopic knee surgery more than ever?

In some cases it’s just what the surgeon knows, and they haven’t kept up with the research. Other times, it’s due to poor conservative management of knee pain. If you’ve gotten physical therapy and it wasn’t effective, people believe that the physical therapy “didn’t work”.

But more often than not, you just haven’t found the right physical therapist yet – someone who understands how to diagnose knee pain properly and get you the customized approach that is required to avoid surgery.

And then there’s the elephant in the room…

It’s very common for knee pain to be coming from somewhere other than your knee. Knee pain can come from your ankle, hip, or back. One study showed that 40% of the time – knee pain is caused by your back – even when you don’t have any back pain.

MRI’s add even more confusion to this. It’s entirely possible to have degenerative changes, a torn meniscus, or advanced arthritis in your knee – and still have your knee pain stemming from a source other than your knee.

Over the course of my 20 year career, I’ve seen many knee surgeries go wrong.

Most of the time, it has nothing to do with the procedure itself. It has everything to do with an incorrect diagnosis going in. Say your knee pain can be resolved conservatively. Then you put it through unnecessary trauma (surgery). There’s a good chance you’re going to have more problems afterwards. You get knee surgery when your knee problem isn’t even coming from your knee. Then you’re definitely going to have problems afterwards.

The moral of this story is to make absolutely certain that:

1) Your knee problem is really a knee problem and

2) You’ve fully exhausted all (quality) conservative therapy options before going under the knife.

Remember that 70% of all knee pain cases do not need surgery.

Science has proven this. Don’t resort to knee surgery unless you’re 100% sure you really need it. Because it can go wrong and when it does – it’s much harder to come back from then if you had avoided it to begin with.

Want help with your pain now? CLICK HERE to talk to one of my specialists for free – you can tell them all about your knee pain and we’ll let you know if we can help. 🙂

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth and writes for Seacoast Media Group. To request a free copy of her Knee Pain Free Report CLICK HERE  or to get in touch, email her at [email protected].

Holding Knee with Arthritis

Three Tips to Protect Your Knees From Arthritis

/in , /by

Knee arthritis is one of the most common forms of osteoarthritis.

Knee arthritis accounts for more than 80% of all osteoarthritis and impacts at least 19% of Americans over the age of 45.

For many, a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis leads to chronic, debilitating knee pain that stops them from doing all of their favorite activities. Sometimes it’s simply due to the limiting belief that once you have arthritis – you’ve got “bad knees” for life.

Other times it’s because you’ve been told you have “bone on bone” in your knee and there’s nothing you can do – except to scale back on activity so that you don’t make it worse. This line of thinking is flawed and often leads people to unnecessary procedures and surgery. One of the best things you can do to protect your knees from the debilitating effects of arthritis is to keep moving.

Here are three tips to help you protect your knees from arthritis as you age – so that you can keep doing all of your favorite activities and avoid any major procedures or surgery:

1. Strengthen Your Hips and Core

Your knee joint is situated just below your hips and core. And research has shown that when you have poor control of your upper leg muscles – you get more stress through your knee joint.

The strength of your upper leg muscles is very much dependent on your hip and core strength. Your thigh bone – or femur – connects your knee and your pelvis – and your core strength controls your pelvis.

If your pelvis isn’t stable – your femur is going to have a difficult time staying in alignment – which will ultimately have an impact on your knee joint. If you’ve got arthritis in your knees, it’s critical you minimize any added stress to your knee joints.

Strengthening your core and having good hip strength is going to help prevent and minimize the symptoms of arthritis and keep you doing activities you love longer.

2. Keep Your Knees Mobile

Mobility before stability is my mantra.

And I say this for just about every joint in your body. But it’s especially true for your knees. There are joints whose primary function is stability – and there are those whose major function is mobility.

Your knee needs to be mobile.

Its major purpose is to bend all the way so you can squat and pick things up – and it needs to straighten all the way to give you stability when you need it. When either of these motions are lacking – your ligaments and surrounding muscles will suffer.

A lot of folks just “accept” that their knees are stiff – especially if you’ve been told you have arthritis in your knees. The limiting belief is that stiffness is par for the course. But the truth is that if you keep your knees mobile as you age – you can not only maintain the mobility you have but improve what is lacking.

If your knees are stiff – start moving them. The thing to understand about arthritis is that it’s a normal part of aging. Debilitating mobility is not. Even a 10% improvement in your knee mobility – which can happen even if you’ve got arthritis – will result in huge improvements in your knee function.

It can be the difference between a natural solution to knee pain vs undergoing a major surgery like knee replacement.

3. Don’t Stop Your Activities

When people find out they have arthritis – and especially if they’re in pain – they often think that slowing down or stopping activity will help protect their knees.

This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

Study after study – including one from the Center for Disease Control – shows that severe joint pain among adults with arthritis is worse with inactivity. When you remain active, you keep blood flowing, your knee joints mobile, and your muscles strong. These are very important factors in managing your arthritis. Sometimes, the knee pain you feel when you’re doing certain activities has nothing to do with your arthritis. Statistics show that only 15% of patients with evidence of knee osteoarthritis on X-ray even had symptoms.

That means that the other 85% is walking, biking, and running around enjoying their most favorite activities – despite the fact their X-ray showed arthritis too. The point here is to keep doing your activities – whether you’ve got arthritis already or not – it’s one of the best ways to prevent and protect your knee joints as you age.

So – to review…

If you want to optimize your knee health as you age – which you still can even if you’ve been told you have “advanced arthritis” – prioritize your core strength, the mobility of your knees, and stay active.

Focusing on these three things can have a significant impact on how arthritis affects you – and can help you avoid major (often unnecessary) surgery in your future.

Is knee pain keeping you from doing your favorite activities? Are you considering a major procedure or surgery but not sure if you need it?

Join us on Tuesday Oct. 25th from 6-7pm for our Free Masterclass for Knee Pain Sufferers.

Sign up using this link —> Knee Pain Masterclass.

We hope to see you there!

Can’t make it live? All participants will receive a complimentary replay of the class 🙂

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth and writes for Seacoast Media Group. To request a free copy of her Knee Pain Free Report CLICK HERE  or to get in touch, email her at [email protected].

Man getting knee pain treatment

Four Reasons Your Knee Pain isn’t Going Away

/in , , /by

Approximately 25% of adults suffer from chronic knee pain and for many, they don’t have a clear reason or diagnosis as to why. They’ve been told to accept that their knee pain is due to arthritis, age, or wear and tear. So why then, are some people able to get rid of their pain with proper knee pain treatment while others continue to suffer? It starts with the correct diagnosis. And for many chronic knee pain sufferers, this is the problem.

Here are four reasons why your knee pain might not be going away:

 

1. Mobility Before Stability

I’m a firm believer in this concept.

Our joints function better when they have full and free mobility. With knees in particular, everyone tends to focus on how well a knee is bending, but a lot of people miss when a knee isn’t fully straightening. Most knees have a certain amount of what we call hyperextension.

For example, your knee might look and feel straight, but if it’s naturally capable of “over-straightening”, and you don’t restore that completely, your knee will have problems.

I see it all the time, especially in folks who’ve had previous knee surgeries. If their full knee motion wasn’t restored properly during rehab, or perhaps they didn’t have any rehab at all (common practice now after most arthroscopic knee surgeries), knee pain will persist, and won’t go away no matter how much you strengthen it.

This isn’t something that can be seen on an Xray or MRI. Only a trained expert who knows how to look for this will be able to detect it, teach you how to restore it, and finally help you get rid of your chronic knee pain.

2. It’s Really a Back Problem

When the source of your pain is truly coming from your knee, it tends to be pretty specific and very localized to the knee joint itself. But if your pain tends to move around your knee, or perhaps travel up and down your leg, there’s a good chance your knee pain is coming from your back.

A recent study found that 40% of all extremity pain (including knees) comes from a source in your spine – even when you don’t have any back pain.

How does this happen? Typically it’s due to an irritated nerve that sends pain primarily to your knee and nowhere else. If you’ve been treating your knee for months and it’s either not going away or perhaps getting worse, consider that your knee problem is not a knee problem. Get your spine checked by a proper movement/mechanical therapist who can screen for this and figure it out.

3. Poor Core Strength

Your abdominals, low back muscles, hips, and glutes all make up what we call your “powerhouse” or core.

We all know that a strong core is important to help prevent back pain. But, it’s equally important for healthy knees. If your core is weak, or doesn’t activate properly, it will have an impact on how fluid your joints will move during activities.

If you aren’t stabilizing yourself well with a strong core, your knees might try to help out by adding stability. Knees aren’t really meant to do this – they are meant to be mobile. But when your body lacks stability, your joints stiffen up in response, which can cause knee pain over time or aggravate arthritis that’s already there.

If your knees chronically ache – especially during activities – this could be why. You can treat your knees all you want, but if you don’t also address the deficits in your core, your knees will continue to hurt.

4. Stiff Ankles

When your ankles are stiff it will have an impact on your knees.

Do one or both of your ankles lack mobility during certain activities? Especially running, hiking, and squatting?  Your knees may strain themselves trying to help out and compensate.

Over time, this pattern will lead to knee pain. Do you notice a lot of stiffness in the front of your ankles? Or pain/fatigue in the front of your lower legs after repetitive walking or running? This could be a sign that the real problem is coming from stiffness in your ankles.

Stop working on your knees and start mobilizing your ankles instead. Your knees should start to feel better in no time. Knee pain can be tricky to figure out – especially if it’s chronic. Arthritis, age, and wear and tear aren’t common reasons for chronic knee pain. But they are definitely reasons that mislead people into thinking they’ve just got “bad knees”.

At least 70% of the time, knee pain can be resolved naturally and with movement – but you must make sure you’ve got the correct diagnosis nailed down first.

Want some help getting rid of YOUR knee pain?

Talk to one of my specialists for free by CLICKING HERE.

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth and writes for Seacoast Media Group. To request a copy of her Knee Pain Free Report CLICK HERE  or to get in touch, email her at [email protected].

knee pain source

Three Causes of Knee Pain and What to Do

/in /by

Knee pain has been the hot topic around our office this week!

With the nicer weather we’ve been having – more people are outside – and their knees are “talking” to them.

Knee pain is the second most common complaint of musculoskeletal pain (back pain is number one) and it impacts one-third of all Americans at one time or another.

Most of our clients are in their 50’s and 60’s and love to ski, run, hike and bike. They worry that knee pain could bring an end to their active lifestyles.

The good news is that eighty percent of ALL knee problems can be resolved without procedures or surgery – but it starts with accurately identifying the root cause.

Here are three of the most common causes of knee pain and what you can do to resolve it.

1. Patellofemoral Knee syndrome

Also known as “runner’s knee”, patellofemoral knee syndrome (PFS) is characterized by pain in the front of your knee – usually just below or behind your knee cap. With PFS, the source of the problem typically has to do with unwanted pressure in the front of your knee… that eventually results in pain.

It’s very tempting to just get a cortisone shot – or take pain pills – to reduce the inflammation caused by this wear and tear. But then you’re only addressing the symptoms…

If you truly want to put an end to PFS, you’ll need to find the cause of this problem.

Typically, it’s poor form and movement habits that are the result of an imbalance somewhere between your hips, quads (front of the thigh), and hamstrings (back of the thigh). When you figure that out, you’ll restore healthy, balanced movement in your knee again – and reduce the aggravation at your knee cap.

2. Iliotibial band syndrome

This is a very common problem that is similar to PFS except that you’ll experience pain on the side of your knee instead of the front. Your iliotibial band (ITB) is a large, thick band of tissue that runs along the side of your thigh to the bottom of your knee. Your ITB is formed from a muscle in your hip called tensor fascia latae (TFL).

When your TFL gets overworked – your ITB suffers – and will result in what often feels like stabbing pain at the side of your knee.

The most common treatment I see for this is foam rolling and massage – and while these are great modalities to relieve your symptoms – they do NOT address the root problem.

You must figure out why your TFL is being stressed and overworked if you really want to get rid of your pain. Typically, it’s due to weak glute muscles, the deep ones designed to stabilize your pelvis. Your TFL is neighbor to your glutes so when they decide to be lazy – your TFL loves to help out – and eventually overdoes it.

When you can get these two groups of muscles working properly together – you’ll put an end to ITB syndrome 🙂

3. Osteoarthritis

Many people find out they have osteoarthritis in their knees and think there’s nothing that can be done. They either have to “live with it” or get surgery to replace their knees.

Not true!

First of all… arthritis is normal and it happens to everyone as they age. What is NOT normal is for you to think you’re helpless because of it.

Arthritis occurs when the protective cartilage that cushions the ends of your bones wears down over time. While there isn’t anything you can do to reverse this process – there is plenty you can do to minimize the symptoms you get because of this condition.

It all comes down to balanced joints and movement.

The more mobility you have – and the more stability you have around your knees – the less symptomatic your arthritis will be.

Some key areas to focus on when you’ve got arthritis in your knees is good core strength, and good flexibility in your hips and ankles. If anything is off in these areas – your knees will want to compensate – which could result in aggravation of arthritic symptoms.

“Motion is lotion” is not just a saying – it works! Especially when it comes to arthritis.

If you’re currently suffering from knee pain, remember that there is a very good chance you fall into the eighty percent of people who can successfully get rid of it completely on their own.

There is no need to rely on pain pills – or think that procedures and surgery are your only options!

If you’re looking for help here in Portsmouth, New Hampshire CLICK HERE to Request a Free Discovery Session. One of our specialist will reach out to you, ask you about everything that’s been going on, and determine if we’re the best people to help you!

Dr. Carrie Jose, Physical Therapist and Pilates expert, owns CJ Physical Therapy & Pilates in Portsmouth and writes for Seacoast Media Group. To request a free copy of her Knee Pain Report CLICK HERE  or to get in touch, email her at [email protected].