Roughly 20% of people are afflicted with knee pain, and the numbers jump as we age. The most common causes are from aging, repeated stress or injury. There are many vocations that lend themselves to more wear and tear on the knee joint than others. History of previous knee surgery is also a precursor for increased knee pain as we age.
Acute knee pain (pain that just began or pain due to injury) is important to get addressed in order to prevent further damage. Knee stability is vital for sport and functional fitness. Meniscus tears, ligament tears and cartilage tears are common injuries sustained during sport or impact activities. New evidence recommends against surgery for meniscus/cartilage tears and promotes physical therapy to regain motion, strength and function.
At Mission, we offer ACL prevention classes along with performance based programs that can decrease your risk of knee injury.
Chronic knee pain is likely due to previous injury, aging, arthritis or repetitive stress to the joint. Physical therapy is a great place to start when dealing with this type of injury. Often, we can delay or even avoid surgery!
If you do need surgical intervention, pre-hab (PT prior to surgery) has been shown to improve surgical outcomes by improving range of motion, strength and gait prior to surgery. The better you go into it, the better you come out! We stick with you through and after surgery and will make sure to get you back to your activities, and most of the time, even better!
