Knee pain and knee injury is one of the most common areas of injury in a Physiotherapist’s office. The knee joint is a complex structure.
Physiotherapist’s at our Newmarket and East Gwillimbury location have many years of experience with patients suffering from knee pain.
There are three joints that make up the knee:
Patellofemoral
Tibia fibular
Tibiafemoral
There are approximately fourteen bursae
There is a medial and lateral meniscus
There are nine ligaments:
Medial collateral ligament
Lateral collateral ligament
Anterolateral ligament
Anterior cruciate ligament ACL
Posterior cruciate ligament PCL
Transverse ligament
Anterior and posterior meniscofemoral ligaments
Meniscotibial ligament
And there are thirteen muscle attachments:
Sartorius
Rectus femoris
Vastus intermedius
Vastus medialis
Vastus lateralis
Articularis genu
Biceps femoris
Semitendonosis
Semimembranosis
Gastrocnemius
Plantaris
Popliteus
Gracilis
The knee is essential to our lower extremity function. With all those structures, no wonder that so many get injured! Knee pain and injury can occur by a direct hit to the knee or through the complex relationship between the knee joint and the hip, foot and ankle joints and surrounding structures as well. The biomechanics of this relationship can result in pain and injury as well. One example is, if there is decreased muscular control from the external rotators of the hip, subsequently there is more torque through the knee joint leading to pain. Overall, alignment, for example, knock knee or bow legged can also contribute to knee pathology. Weight also plays a role in knee pain.
According to Harvard health publications, walking on level ground causes 1.5 times your body weight to translate through your knee and losing 11 lbs. can decrease your chance of knee Osteoarthritis by 50% in younger obese women.
East Gwillimbury Physiotherapy exists to provide Physiotherapy services in Newmarket, East Gwillimbury, Bradford, Aurora and the surrounding York Region.
