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Dec 02
2019

This is part one of two articles that will help you cope with the dos of knee pain and the don’ts of knee pain if you find yourself battling it. Are there some things you should learn to do if you have knee pain? Yes, absolutely! 

The Dos of Knee Pain

Here’s where to start.

Do Get It Checked Out

Get it checked out to determine the cause. Some things are quick and easy fixes. Some things your physical therapist can guide you on how not to make things worse, while at the same time still maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. If you don’t already know, you have direct access to your physical therapist without requiring a physician’s referral, so take advantage of their expertise and schedule an appointment today.

Do Continue Exercising

If your knee is compromised or weak, one of the most important things you can do is to continue to exercise to build the strength of the supporting tissues around your knee. This will help you continue to use your knee and keep it strong. The important thing is to do so under the guidance of a physical therapist who can show you ways of stretching and exercising that will help accomplish this goal of building strength and not compromise the integrity of the knee any further due to the pain. They can show you how to safely exercise the knee and keep it strong.

[Related article: How To Prevent Knee Pain]

Do Rest, But Not Too Much

Pain makes us want to rest and take it easy, but at times this can also lead to an unfortunate downturn in health if you rest too much. Finding a fine balance between resting your knee, keeping it elevated, and keeping ice on it to reduce swelling if you encounter that, and still continuing to stay active is important. Resting too much can cause you to lose much needed muscle mass in your legs and add to the problem that already exists in your knee. Talk to your physical therapist about how to do this properly.

Do Lose Weight If It Is Causing A Problem With Your Knee

If weight is causing additional stress on your body, losing weight safely can help to reduce some of the stress on your body, joints, and on your knee. A physical therapist can show you ways to safely begin an exercise program.

[Related article: Chronic Knee Pain: What To Do About It]

Do Consider Alternative Therapies Such As Dry Needling

A physical therapist is trained in many different methods to help treat pain — dry needling may be one of them. Dry needling works by using small filament needles to target trigger points in the body. It is mainly used to reach areas of the body that your physical therapist cannot reach with other hands-on methods alone, to reduce and relieve pain. Sometimes the relief is instantaneous.

Now that you know more about the dos of knee pain… 

…if you are ready to enlist the help of a physical therapist for your knee pain, call us today. A physical therapist can help you to prevent your condition from getting worse, and help you start living a better quality of life despite your knee pain.

At Above & Beyond Physical Therapy, we have physical therapists available at two convenient locations in both Queen Creek and Phoenix.  Contact us today.

Knee Pain Part 2: The Don’ts of Knee Pain