Knee pain can be extremely frustrating and can interrupt your normal daily activities. Whether your knee pain is from an injury, surgery, or other issues – physical therapy can help. Experienced physical therapists often see patients with knee pain and use various methods to relieve the pain. Here’s how physical therapy can help your knee pain.
A Thorough Evaluation of Your Knee Pain
When you first start physical therapy for knee pain, your therapist will give you a thorough evaluation. They will test your range of motion, knee mobility, and pain level. Once they’ve determined the source and level of your knee pain, they will customize your treatment and goals to help ease your pain.
Movement and Exercise
When your knees hurt, you may think you should move less. But in some cases, movement can help loosen your joints and muscles and help ease your knee pain. Physical therapists are movement experts – they will know the best exercises and stretches to help you with your knee pain. Although some of these exercises may temporarily cause more pain, they are designed to help your knees strengthen and heal so you can move freely with less pain in the near future.
Strengthen Your Surrounding Muscles
While the pain you’re experiencing may be coming from your knees, other muscles and joints could contribute to it. Strengthening the surrounding muscles of the leg could help eliminate your knee pain. Your physical therapist will help with exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles that support the knee joints. They may also give you exercises to do at home in between your therapy appointments. It’s essential to follow the advice of your physical therapists and do your home exercises to get the most out of your therapy.
Ready to try physical therapy for your knee pain? Give Activity First Physical Therapy a call today to get started.