Knee

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Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS)
Iliotibial band syndrome is one of the most common causes of lateral (outside) knee pain, which is usually the result of a non-traumatic overuse injury. The pain is commonly associated with tenderness over the outside of your knee. The IT band is a thick fibrous band of connective tissue that runs from your glute muscles down the outside of the thigh from the pelvis to the knee. The main presentation of ITB syndrome is a sharp pain to the outside area of the knee, that can radiate to the outer area of the thigh or the calf. Pain is usually worsened by running or going down stairs. Sudden increases of physical activities involving the knee, as well as muscular weakness of the hip muscles can increase the risk of developing ITBS. Your physio will be able to diagnose the condition and give you expert advice and treatment together with a bespoke rehabilitation program to reduce the areas causing your pain.
Knee Ligament injury
Ligaments are straps of strong fibrous material that provide stability for your joints. In the knee there are four main ligaments (ACL,PCL,MCL and LCL) that all work together with other structures to provide a stable knee. They can become injured when they are forcefully twisted or pushed into positions that cause the ligament to stretch or tear completely. The symptoms between each ligament varies but commonly noticed is swelling and restricted movement as well as pain on walking. These types of injury generally occur within competitive sports but can sometimes happen from simply twisting your knee when walking about. The diagnosis of the correct ligament is crucial to determine the optimal management. Some cases surgery or immobilisation may be needed. Your physio will take a careful history of the injury from you and perform an assessment to determine the level of injury. An individualised rehabilitation plan is then designed to help return you back performing at the top of your game.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is a common condition that affects almost 9 million people in the UK. It is generally associate with people over the age of 40 and is more common in women and those with a family history of the condition. However, it can occur at any age as a result of an injury or be associated with other joint-related conditions, such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis. It is caused by progressive repetitive pressure on the smooth cartilage lining of your joint. Over time the smooth cartilage lining can become roughened that can result rubbing against each other that can cause pain, swelling, heat and stiffness in the joint. It is important to note that these changes do not always result in pain, this has been proven in many research studies. This should give you hope that pain can settle if you experience a flare up. It can occur in any joint but more commonly occurs in weight bearing joints of the knees and hips. There is no cure for arthritis although exercise, education and pacing has been shown to decrease pain and stiffness levels while maintaining function and increasing quality of life.

(??? add in) Enquire about the evidenced based “Escape pain” course run by the Flex Physio practice to learn more about managing osteoarthritis.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome “Runners’ Knee”
The non-medical name for Patellofemoral pain syndrome is runners’ knee and is an umbrella term for pain at the front or under your kneecap. The main symptoms are a dull aching pain in and around your kneecap and can affect one or both of your knees. Although anyone can get it, it’s more common in women and people in their twenties and thirties. The pain will usually start gradually and get worse if you do knee bending activities passed 60degrees. It is caused by abnormal stress, a sudden increase in activity or a change in your exercise routine and is one of the most common causes of knee pain. The symptoms may be especially bad when going up and down stairs, kneeling or doing a squatting action. It can also be painful when sitting with your knees bent for a long time, for example when working at a desk.

Runners are at risk if there’s a structural problem affecting the joint between your kneecap and thigh bone. This can include minor problems in the alignment of your knee joint and weakness in the muscles around your hip or thigh.
Symptoms can be helped through an individualised exercise plan from your physiotherapist where the root cause of the issue is targeted to regain pain free function.

Osgood-Schlatter Disease

Osgood Schlatter disease usually develops during the stage of bone maturation (growth spurts) of children between 10-12 years old in girls and 12-14 years old in boys. Symptoms are located on the front of the knee and below knee cap on the bony prominence known as the tibial tuberosity. Its normally painful to touch with swelling seen in some cases. Activities such as running, jumping, kneeling, cycling and kicking a ball can aggravate symptoms. During these repetitive activities microtrauma occur due to the the strain on the tendon. Risks of developing Osgood-Schlatter disease is having poor flexibility of the thigh muscles (quads and hamstrings). Learning management strategies with physiotherapy is advised to help reduce the symptoms and assist with returning to normal or sporting activities. It’s common to have a pronounced prominence after having this condition that will not effect your daily function later on in life.