20 Minutes & You Can Treat Your Knee(s)

That “untreatable” knee might actually be quite treatable:

This method is grrrreat

Sometimes, rarely, a knee is genuinely not treatable. This will usually be known not by “my doctor said the best they can do is prescribe me painkillers”, but rather more by such clues “well I stood on a landmine and the knee isn’t exactly there to treat now” or “I have fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva and it’s basically one bone now”; extreme situations like that.

So, in most cases, there is improvement that can be made.

The trick comes in four parts, and these are discussed in the video as “the four Rs“:

• Reduce pain
• Regain mobility
• Rebuild strength
• Restore function

As mnemonics go, it’s not the most helpful since the information in the second half still needs remembering, but as a process, it’s good, and it can look like this…

Reduce pain: avoid excessive rest, which can create a cycle of pain, reduced movement, stiffness, weakness, and further pain; instead, find movements your knee can tolerate. You can also use cold or heat, whichever feels better, with cold potentially helping when pain is more noticeable and warmth when stiffness is the bigger problem; neither replaces rehabilitation though.

Regain knee mobility: compare both knees for differences in bending (flexion) and straightening (extension), as even small losses of movement can contribute to discomfort and difficulty walking, and as for how to improve in each direction:

• Restore knee bending: lie on your back with a towel wrapped around the front of your shin and gently pull your knee towards you until you reach stiffness, then relax; alternatively, sit in a chair and use your other leg to pull the affected leg backwards and forwards.
• Restore knee straightening: sit with your leg supported and a folded towel underneath your ankle, allowing your knee to relax towards the bed; gently contract your thigh muscle to push the knee down, or use your hand to assist the movement.

Rebuild strength, which needs to be done methodically:

• Rebuild quadriceps strength: do straight leg raises by lying on your back, bending the unaffected leg, pulling the toes of your affected leg upwards, and lifting it until both thighs are level.
  • Alternative quadriceps exercise: put a rolled towel underneath your knee and press down while lifting your ankle to activate the quadriceps without having to squat.
• Rebuild glute strength: perform side-lying hip abductions by lying on your side with the affected leg uppermost, keeping it straight and lifting it diagonally upwards and slightly backwards, leading with your heel; add a resistance band when the movement becomes easier.
• Progress to squats: start with supported mini squats, pushing your hips backwards before bending your knees; if uncomfortable, you can put a rolled towel under your heels to change the forces acting on your knees.
• Progress to sit-to-stands: stand up from a chair and slowly lower yourself back down; if lowering causes discomfort, raise the seat slightly with a folded towel, then progress to holding a dumbbell or weighted bag against your chest as your strength improves.

Restore functional balance and coordination: practice tandem walking by walking slowly along an imaginary straight line, placing one foot directly in front of the other; progress by looking forwards rather than down, then try closing one eye with support nearby.

Restore functional kneeling ability: gradually reintroduce kneeling by placing a soft surface on the floor, using your hands for support, and slowly lowering your affected knee towards the ground before pushing yourself back up.

So, with all those Rs, we could even say it was grrrrrrrpprreat!

For more on all of this plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

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For a much deeper understanding of treating knee pain, here’s a great book that we reviewed a little while back:

Treat Your Own Knee – by Robin McKenzie ← he’s a physiotherapist and not a doctor, but with 40 years of practice to his name and 33 letters after his name (CNZM OBE FCSP (Hon) FNZSP (Hon) Dip MDT Dip MT), he seems to know his stuff. His work is very well-respected, and almost any English-speaking physiotherapist will have read his books.

Take care!