Hip & Knee Pain

Do you feel a sharp or nagging pain in your hip that makes walking, sitting or even lying down a chore? Do you have a painful, unstable knee that feels as if it may buckle at any moment? Either of these sensations can seriously interfere with your lifestyle — and if you’re experiencing both at the same time, you may find even simple tasks impossible. That’s when it’s time to turn to physical therapy. Our Shreveport physical therapists can help you manage your hip and/or knee pain issues safely and without drugs or surgery, so contact Fultz Physical Therapy & Joint Rehab in Shreveport, LA today for an appointment!

What is hip and knee pain?

Hip and knee pain can appear as either separate or combined phenomena. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint that relies on a number of strong muscles and other tissues to keep it mobile and stable as it supports the weight of your upper body. The knee is more of a hinge joint, generally confining itself to forward and backward motion. It must support even more weight than the hip joint while also allowing you to run, dance, walk, or stand.

Pain in either of these joints may originate in the joint itself, or it may be referred from another part of the body. A problem in the hip joint can transmit pain signals to the knee and vice versa. Since the knees and hips are both parts of your kinetic chain (the chain of weight-bearing joints that must work together for correct posture), an imbalance in one joint may create undue stress and deterioration in the other.

Causes of hip and knee pain

Because they contain similar structures and are subject to similar stresses, the knees and hips can suffer from many of the same disorders, injuries, and diseases. Both may suffer acute injuries such as strains, sprains, and dislocation. They are also subject to repetitive motion and overuse injuries, such as tendinitis and chronic muscle strain. Referred pain from a pinched sciatic nerve root can travel down through the hip to the knee, causing pain and other symptoms in both areas. An unbalanced stance or gait can cause abnormal stress and premature wear in both parts of the kinetic chain, resulting in arthritis.

Other pain problems are specific to one joint or the other. For instance, the Mayo Clinic notes that hip pain may issue from a cartilage injury called a labral tear, while knee pain may be due to bursitis (inflammation of the bursa sacs) in or around the knee joint. To make matters worse, a painful instability in your hip can cause knee problems. Tight hip flexor muscles and weak gluteus medius muscles can cause the hip to rotate inward without your realizing it. This puts stress on the knee and kneecap, causing painful issues such as patellofemoral stress syndrome and iliotibial band friction syndrome.

How physical therapy can help hip and knee pain

Physical therapy can often relieve (or greatly reduce) hip and knee pain, sparing you the need for medication or surgical correction. In addition to examining the hip and/or knee itself for signs of structural damage or misalignment, our Shreveport physical therapists will also study your posture, stance, gait, and pain-free range of motion. We can then prescribe the right forms of physical therapy to help normalize joint function and relieve unnatural stresses and strains.

Exercises can help stabilize weak hip and knee tissues, potentially relieving pain in both joints. For example, research has shown that kneecap pain responds better to a combination of hip and knee strengthening exercises than it does to knee exercises alone. Exercises designed to strengthen your core (including lower abdominal, pelvic, and lower back muscle groups) can straighten your posture, equalizing the weight load on both sides of the body. Massage, heat, ice, laser therapy, and other soft tissue treatments can help promote healing and ease the pain in damaged hip or knee tissues.

Ready to make friends with your hips and knees again? Contact one of our Blanchard & Shreveport, LA physical therapists to request an appointment!

FAQs

What causes knee pain?

Your knees are hinge joints that allow for the forward-and-backward motions within the joint.
The knee is one of the largest joints in your body, made up of a complex system of bones, tendons, and ligaments. Because of this, the knee can be easily injured due to overexertion or repetitive motions. Additionally, knee pain can be caused due to an underlying ailment. Some of the most common causes of knee pain are sprains, strains, fractures, tears, dislocation, tendinitis, bursitis, and arthritis.

What can I do to relieve knee pain?

There are some actions you can take on your own to relieve your knee pain, including wearing properly fitted shoes, using hot and cold remedies, stretching, and taking breaks from physical activity when noticing painful flare-ups. However, physical therapy is the best way to find consistent, long-lasting relief for your knee pain. Through manual therapy, strength training, flexibility training, balance training, and pain-specific exercises, physical therapy can get your knees moving comfortably once again.

How do I get rid of knee pain?

Frequently consulting with a physical therapist is the best way to continually manage your knee pain. Having a regular physical therapy checkup ensures that your joints are working at their peak performance. In addition, any problems will be discovered early, preventing the onset of arthritis and joint injury. If you do have arthritis or have had surgery, then a regular physical therapy check-up is especially important, in order to make sure that your knee pain remains at bay.

How do you diagnose knee pain?

Our physical therapists will examine your knee for signs of misalignment or structural damage, in addition to examining your stance, posture, gait, and range of motion. If needed, additional tests (such as x-rays) may be conducted. This will help determine the cause of your knee pain so we can treat it accordingly. After your initial evaluation is complete, your physical therapist will prescribe a physical therapy plan specifically for you, aimed at relieving unnatural stresses and strains, and normalizing your joint function.