What Causes a Knee Pain ?

Many of us suffer from many types of pain. The most common are neck, shoulder, back or hip pain to name a few. Often there is a connection between these problems and how we walk. With age our bodies can start to deteriorate if not taken care of properly. Other causes include repetitive activities (like running for example) that put us at risk for over use injuries or sports injuries as an example of this could be rugby or football players as it’s known in other countries. Over time the cartilage beneath the Knee cap (the patella) will soften causing pain in the joint. Instead of gliding smoothly over the knee, the knee cap grinds against the thigh bone when walking. This may result in heavy erosion, and apart from age and overexertion, faulty gait is possibly the most common cause of knee pain.

Here’s Why…………..

The knee joint is the connection between the upper and lower leg. It seems simple enough but in reality it is much more complex than that. For instance, there is a place on your body called your elbow where it is designed to move up and down as well as rotate. It functions completely differently from your knee though. While the elbow portion of your arm can move in all directions (up & down and side to side), your knee only moves up and down or forward towards your toes and back – you can’t twist it if you’ve never had a torn ligament (which could be possible if you over-stretch it by twisting too much). The bones in the lower leg are forced to rotate internally when moving simultaneously with your knees while walking, running or even getting out of bed – resulting in a twisting motion at the knee joint itself. Therefore, wearing out over time which leads to chronic knee pain.

Treatment for Knee Pain 

The most common treatment for knee pain is that of Orthotics. Orthotics are recommended to stabilize your feet and in turn correct poor foot function. They can be used to prevent the unnatural rotation of the lower leg, which causes this type of knee pain. By supporting arches, orthotics force ankles and legs back into alignment, reducing the twisting that occurred at the knee, thereby providing relief to a painful knee joint.

Orthotics can improve knee pain in a number of ways:

• They can change the distribution of force through the foot and ankle, which can result in a change in the distribution of force through the knee.
• They can act as cushions to reduce the force through the foot and ankle, which can result in a reduction of force through the knee.
• They can change the alignment of the foot and ankle, which can result in a change of alignment at the knee. For example, they can control, overpronation (rolling in) of the foot. Orthotics can help control overpronation of the foot, which in turn, improves alignment of the knee and thereby reducing knee pain.

Get Relief with Custom Orthotics

Orthotics can be made out of different materials. The choice of material depends on what the orthotic are trying to do. Soft orthotics are beneficial if cushioning is required. Semi-rigid orthotics provide more stability than soft orthotics and still provide good shock absorption while rigid orthotics provide maximal support and stability. They can be custom made or pre-made and are designed to fit easily into most casual or sports shoes. After an initial break-in period, your feet will need time to adjust to the new customization but you should get used to them within a week or so as long as you wear them for at least four hours a day regularly (like earlier we suggested). If the orthotics are not comfortable in 2-3weeks they may need to be adjusted. Ohabilitation Centre located near Yonge & Sheppard where we provide therapist in those disciplines to help you with your rehabilitation and goals. Orthotics, when used in conjunction with a general knee rehabilitation program can serve an important role in the treatment of knee pain. If you are suffering from knee pain do not hesitate to visit us here at The North York Madison Sports Injury Clinic. 

Visit Your North York Chiropractor

Here at the North York Madison Sports Injury Clinic we want to provide you with the best chiropractic care possible in North York. We offer many services from chiropractic adjustments, orthotics consolations, RMT, Physiotherapy, Kinesiology and Naturopathy. Make an appointment today!