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  • Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners

    What can I do for my knee pain?

    Related Topics
    Pain Sports Injuries & Prevention
    I have had a car accident and suffered severe injuries. I injured my knee and have been in wheel chair for 6wks and have debilitating pain daily. Walking up and down stairs is a killer. I am on pain medication for back injury but they do not work for my knee. ANY SUGGESTIONS?
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    Thanks

    Dr Ali Abdo

    Osteopath

    Ali treats people from all walks of life and a variety of complaints. His interests lie in treating and rehabilitating sports injuries, treating headaches and … View Profile

    Hi,

    It is important to get it your knee assessed to determine what structure in or around the knee is causing your pain. Walking up and down stairs cound be loading up the cartilage within your knee (acts as a shock absorber) and if damaged it could be the source of your pain. Maltracking of the knee cap which can cause friction can also be a source of pain. However, a through examination is important to determine the source of pain. While treatment may assist the practitioner can refer on for scans if there is suspected structural damage.


    Hope that helps.  

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  • Neil Synnott

    Exercise Physiologist, Physiotherapist

    I am qualified as a PHYSIOTHERAPIST and ACCREDITED EXERCISE PHYSIOLOGIST.I primarily use the McKENZIE METHOD for assessment and management of musculoskeletal pain disorders. The McKENZIE … View Profile

    Hi,

    I agree with Dr Abdo. Having your knee and back properly assessed for what is actually causing the pain is important. Early assessment and management is vital to achieving the best long term outcomes.

    All the best, Neil

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  • Miss Loretta O'Sullivan-Pippia

    Physiotherapist

    I am a specialist sports physiotherapist with a sub-speciality in adolescents in sport (as awarded bu the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2007). In addition … View Profile

    Hey there,

    You sound as though you are in quite a bit of pain.  It is really difficult to tell what you have done just by the description you have given, therefore, like the other health professionals, I would suggest that you see a health professional so they can perform a detailed assessment, that would include some questioning, a physical examination and maybe some imaging, to work out a diagnosis and a management plan.  It is really important that you get out of that wheel chair ASAP as the main muscles in your legs function in weightbearing and need weightbearing for stimulation - I would advise that you do this under the guidance of a physiotherapist, as part of your assessment, diagnosis and managment plan.  Things such as ice or warmth may give you some tempory relief, but given what you have described you really do need to see a health professional as soon as possible.

    All the best,

    Loretta

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  • Lucy Johnston

    Exercise Physiologist, Nutritionist, Personal Trainer

    Owner ,Operator of Pro Health Studio, Exercise Physiology Clinic, Byron Bay. We service clients with chronic diseases, chronic injuries and weight issues right through to … View Profile

    So the back and the knee is probably the stiffest in the first two hours of wake up. So, you wouldn't recommend the person especially just after six weeks to be doing stairs. It would hurt still because it's not easy going through full knee range with impact on a hard surface after only 6 weeks range. There's still a lot of scar tissue and resistance to moving and stretching the tendons and ligaments and muscles in that range.

    So, generally, after two hours of waking up when you would commence doing specific rehabilitative movements. But the best tghing for this person would be being in the pool and working through movement without as high a load of gravity as what you get on land-based activities. Hydrotherapy and lots of pool, and then eventually you'd move onto bikes, because that is full range of movement without any kind of impacting activity. It will strengthen the muscles and the other tissues around the knee to support it without too much load. I'd probably recommend that they stick with physiotherapy for a little bit longer until they've got complete range, and then move on to, say, an exercise physiologist to get back to the function of what they need in everyday life through more specific types of training.

    It could be a range of different things, but probably recommending an anti-inflammatory diet in terms of the pain medications not helping. Things like high intakes of olive oil and 3g omega-3, fish oils, a bit higher than what's probably been recommended in the past would help that person with inflammation whilst they're recovering.

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