Knee Pain & Knee Injuries Syracuse
Do you experience pain on the outer or inner sides of your knees?
Do you experience pain above, below, or under your knee cap?
Do you experience pain in your knees when walking, running or jumping?
Do you experience pain in your knees while getting up from a chair or while going up or down stairs?
Do you experience pain in your knees when driving or sitting for extended periods of time?
If you answered YES to one or more of the above questions, you likely have a knee pain that can be helped by Active Release Technique, Cold Laser Therapy and Applied Kinesiology.
As an Ironman athlete and a sports medicine practitioner, I commonly see people with a variety of knee injuries and knee pain. Knee conditions, if left untreated, can often lead to an ongoing cycle of biomechanical imbalances which eventually lead to ongoing pain and degeneration in the knee, as well as hip, low back, shoulder, or neck problems. Sometimes surgery is necessary to correct knee problems, but in the majority of cases it is not. By applying the right treatment procedures and proper rehabilitative programs, most people can not only treat their current knee problem, but can also prevent future knee injuries from occurring.
I believe that the Active Release Technique focus upon the restoration of normal translation and movement to all of the soft-tissues that make up the knee's kinetic chain is the key to treating any soft-tissue-related knee condition. By using ART methodology, we not only treat the current problem, but we can also help the patient prevent further knee injuries, and improve the patient's overall physical performance.
The joint contains two pads called the semi-lunar cartilages. Here, too, the cartilage can be torn by the forces applied to the knee. Tears or damage to the ligaments are cartilage may require surgery that can be minimally invasive, such as an arthroscopic procedures, or require more intensive opening of the knee. Loose bodies in the joint may require surgery.
Often there are pre-existing factors that predispose a person to knee conditions. Consider the running football player who suddenly cuts in his knee gives out with a sharp pain, or person getting up from a stooped position and then he gives out. There are activities that are frequently done without injury, then suddenly there is a problem. Why now?
Muscle Support to the Knee
Muscles were once considered simply the motors that move the bones of this joint; however, it has been recognized and applied kinesiology that the muscles also provide stabilization to the joint, along with ligaments that limit its range of motion. Many knee problems are the direct result of improper support to the knee from the muscles that attach above and below it. If one or a group of the muscles around the knee become weak then he may lose some of its stability in that direction.
For example, if the muscles on the middle side of the knee is weak, there is little to keep it from bending outward. If this condition is present in the individual strains his knee in that direction, it may lead to injury. This can cause something as simple as a trick knee or a much more serious condition, such as catching of the cartilage as the knee goes through its range of motion, causing a tear.
By testing the individual muscles that support the knee, and applied kinesiologist can find the area of limited strength. Further evaluation of the weakened muscle gives a doctor information to improve its function. Usually the cause of the problem is rapidly found and corrected, providing an immediate strengthening of the muscles at fault.
Reactive muscles. All muscles have proprioceptors, which are nerve endings that since muscle activity. The sensory information goes to other muscles that work in harmony with or in opposition to the muscle sending the information. This information exchange between muscles is absolutely essential for coordinated, harmonious action. An example of proprioceptive activity is when a muscle contracts, it's proprioceptors signal the muscle working in the opposite direction to relax. This organization between muscles depends on normal nerve function in the proprioceptive mechanism. Sometimes - because of an injury - the proprioceptors send improper, disorganized information that may cause a muscle to relax at a time when it is most needed for support. A football player may be running and suddenly cut to the side to avoid an opponent. If proprioceptor sends incorrect information during the act of cutting, it may cause a muscle to weaken when it is needed most to support the knee. The knee may then band, jamming the cartilage and possibly causing a tear. The same thing could happen during the innocent activity of rising from a kneeling position in your living room.
In this example of reactive muscle involvement, the muscles supporting the knee will all test normal during an applied kinesiologist's initial examination. He or she will then elicit information about the proprioceptive system I first testing one muscle - thus activating it - and then quickly testing another muscle to determine the effect on the secondary muscle. If the reactive muscle phenomenon is present, the second muscle will be dramatically weaker immediately after testing the first, or primary, muscle. Treatment is then directed toward the primary muscles, after which the secondary muscle no longer weekends, even though the first muscle is stimulated just prior to testing.
Joint misalignment. Joints have mechanoreceptors as well as proprioceptors. These specialized nerve endings send position and other information to the nervous system. The joint can become misaligned, causing information sent to muscles to be incorrect and resulting imbalance of the muscles support. The applied kinesiologist examines this by stressing the join in different directions to determine the effect of nerve stimulation on the supporting muscles of the knee. This may cause one or more of the previously strong muscles to temporarily weaken. If a muscle weekends the doctor obtains information about how to manipulate the joint to correct the problem.
Total Body Structural Balance
Good examination of the knee requires consideration of function of the entire body. The knee is often involved on a secondary basis. Sometimes the body is considered as segmental functioning units and only the knee is examined; however, this is not the way it works. The bodies structural balance must be in complete harmony for it to work as a total, integrated whole. When the knee is examined by a doctor, it must be examined with this holistic concept in order to avoid treating effects rather than primary causes.
Foot-ankle. The foot and ankle, when functioning improperly, may cause strain throughout the body. Then he is one of the primary areas receiving strain from the foot. You can observe this by standing in making your foot go into a flat-footed position. Watch your knee role in Word. If a person has a pro needed or flatfoot, and he receives shock with every step. This is a mechanical strength that may cause leg and knee pain and possibly need damage.
Like the name the foot as proprioceptors and mechanoreceptors that transmit information to the muscles of the leg and the rest of the body as a person walks. If the foot is not functioning normally, there is a definite chance these nerve messages will go to the body in an improper manner, resulting in poorly integrated muscle action. If the muscles receiving improper messages are knee supporting one's, it results in poor knee support.
Pelvic balance. The bones of the 12 this are lower back and their associated muscles contribute to the knee balance. If the pelvis and its associated structures are off-balance, a structural strain similar to that from improper foot action will develop in the knee.
Arthritis. The most common kind of arthritis in the knee as osteoarthritis, which is the wear and tear type. It is common in the knee because the knee is a major weight-bearing structure. This is true, but it doesn't go far enough; there is more to the story. The knee, being a major body weight-bearing structure, requires excellent structural stability to avoid excessive strain. The knee is of an individual with poor and/or imbalanced muscle support received considerably more wear and tear than is normal. This additional strain causes much more rapid development of us to arthritis, especially if an individual is prone to that condition anyway.
Bursitis. Bursitis is an inflammatory reaction in the bursa of a joint. Here again, excessive strain increases the potential for development of bursitis.
Gate mechanism. Correlated with the proprioceptive mechanism and reactive muscles outlined above is a valuation of the muscles as they operate in a normal walking and running gait. Sometimes muscles seem normal when tested individually, but when certain gait muscles are tested simultaneously they become weak. This causes an abnormal walking and running pattern they can contribute to the dysfunction of any of the joints or structures activated in these activities. Whenever a knee is involved, even if it appears that there has been a direct injury, an applied kinesiologist must do a considerable amount of detective work to be sure the primary problem is being treated. As mentioned earlier, a knee injury can be the result of a foot, pelvic, supporting muscle, or gay problem. If the primary involvement is not treated, he remains as a hidden cause to effect a knee injury in the future. This happens to individuals who are often considered to have weak knees. Eventually they may develop a torn ligament or cartilage, necessitating surgery.
As always, effective treatment depends on finding the underlying cause of the problem and directing treatment there.
