Is nagging hip and knee pain preventing you from performing daily tasks? If you’ve been suffering from chronic aches and pains in these areas, regular physical therapy treatment may be beneficial.
A skilled physical therapist can assist you in improving your daily quality of life by focusing on your problem areas to reduce pain and increase mobility over time.
If you or a loved one has pain and discomfort when getting out of a chair, walking down to the corner store, or going up and down the stairs, physical therapy may be able to help.
Call Ohana Physical Therapy today to learn more about how we can help you get rid of your chronic hip or knee pain. Our team is ready to help you find your way to recovery.
What caused my hip and knee pain?
The hips and knees are the largest joints in the human body and support the majority of your body weight.
They must both work in close coordination to keep your body mobile, but they are both susceptible to injury, arthritis, and other common conditions.
Knee and hip problems can be treated in some cases with exercises or pain relievers. However, hip and knee problems frequently worsen over time, making them difficult to treat with over-the-counter medications.
Common conditions that cause hip and knee pain
While everyone is different, many of our physical therapy patients suffer from recurring hip and knee pain due to a variety of factors.
These include:
- Core Muscle Injury — Notice a pain in your groin area after a weekend of playing ball with your pals? If so, you may be suffering from a core muscle injury, like a strain or tear of the muscles and soft tissues in your lower abdomen area. Rest can help this common injury, but we recommend scheduling an appointment with our physical therapist if the hip pain lasts for several days to a week or more.
- “Runner’s knee” – An unstable kneecap can lead to chronic knee pain. This condition is known as patellofemoral syndrome or “runner’s knee.”
- Bursitis — If you notice recurring pain on the outside of your hip, buttocks, or thigh, there’s a good chance that you have bursitis or inflammation of the cushioning pillow-like sacs that work to keep your tendons from rubbing against your bone. This is a common condition as we age and can be relieved with targeted physical therapy treatments.
- Strains, sprains, and ruptures – The knee and hip joints can move thanks to muscles, tendons and ligaments. Repetitive motion or acute injuries can cause a strain (damage to muscles or tendons) or a sprain (hyperextension of a ligament). Athletes are vulnerable to ruptures of the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament).
- Fractures — The bones of the knee can easily be broken during a fall, car accident or sporting accident. The risk of suffering a knee fracture increases as we age, as many older adults develop osteoporosis which weakens the bones. Physical therapy can help to reduce pain and inflammation after a fracture and increase mobility over time.
- Osteoarthritis – Osteoarthritis is a degeneration of the cartilage that normally keeps the bone ends in a joint from rubbing together. The resulting friction causes chronic pain and inflammation.
- Torn Meniscus — The meniscus is a tough, rubbery piece of cartilage that works as a shock absorber in the thigh bone and shinbone area. If you suddenly twist your knee while playing sports or attempting other strenuous moves, the meniscus can be torn, causing intense and long-lasting pain. Regular visits with our physical therapist can help to reduce your symptoms.
Are you ready to begin your treatment plan?
Physical therapy can provide a safe, non-invasive, and holistic treatment option depending on the severity of your injury.
Stretching and strengthening, balance training, joint mobilization, electrical stimulation, and other physical therapy treatments for hip and knee pain may be used.
Our physical therapist will work with you to create a treatment plan that is tailored to your specific lifestyle needs, as well as a comprehensive home exercise routine to help you maintain a better quality of life in between appointments.
The sooner you seek knee or hip physical therapy, the better. According to research, patients who receive physical therapy for hip or knee pain within 15 days of symptom onset require fewer pain injections, medications, or surgical intervention.
Contact Ohana Physical Therapy today to get started on your individualized treatment plan. Our team of physical therapists is ready to meet you!
