Knee Pain Physiotherapy | Move Physiotherapy Fremantle

Patellofemoral Knee Pain Syndrome is arguably the most common cause of knee pain which typically occurs around the knee cap, and is aggravated by activities such as prolonged sitting, climbing stairs, walking and running.

This condition is characterised by a mal-tracking of the kneecap, which instead of gliding seemlessly within the patellofemoral groove, tracks to the outer part of this groove which in turn results in friction occuring between the backside of the kneecap and the underlying femur. 

This pain is most commonly a dull ache which can become more severe if left untreated for a significant period of time.

Patellar Tendinopathies, or simply termed Jumper’s Knee, as the name would suggest is one of the most common causes of knee pain in jumping sports such as basketball, netball and volleyball. 

Tendinopathies are overuse injuries characterised by an inability of the tendon withstand the amount of load applied to it. Quite simply, the tendon isn’t coping with how much you are asking it to do!

Treatment of tendinopathies often require a period of de-loading in order to improve your symptoms, before commencing a progressive strengthening program of the affected tendon and surrounding musculature. Although you may be asked to restrict the amount of activity you perform, most people are not required to completely cease their sporting or exercise activity. 

A Baker’s Cyst refers to an area of excessive knee joint fluid that escapes in the area between the calf muscles at the back of the knee. 

These cysts can be seen in both children and adults. In children, these injuries often resolve spontaneously whereas in adults, this is usually indicative of other intra-articular pathologies such as meniscal tears, ACL injuries, cartilage degeneration and arthritis. As such, physiotherapy management often involves treatment of the underlying cause (e.g. the meniscal pathology). These cysts can also be aspirated or surgically removed if they become increasingly large and symptomatic.

MCL injuries are a common cause of inner knee pain, which results from a sheer force trauma that occurs from the outer part of the knee to the inner part of the knee. 

These are common in contact sports such as AFL, rugby and soccer where another player impacts the knee. Ligament injuries are categorised as either Grade 1, 2 or 3 depending on the severity of the injury. A Grade 1 sprain refers to only a minor amount of tearing of ligament fibres, whereas a Grade 3 injury refers to a complete rupture of the ligament.

The meniscus is a fibrocartilage pad that acts as a shock absorber between the femur and tibia in the knee joint. Tears to the medial meniscus are the most common meniscal injury in the knee, as it is firmly anchored to the joint capsule and medial collateral ligament. Traumatically, they are most commonly injured in twisting accidents whilst playing sport. Degenerative tears of the medial meniscus can also result from continual overuse with poor biomechanics.

Symptomatically, these injuries cause a deep ache in the inner part of the knee made worse by deep flexion of the knee joint as occurs in squatting and crouching. It may also be associated with symptoms such as clicking, locking and giving way of the knee joint. 

Treatment of medial meniscal injuries often requires a combination of soft-tissue release such as massage and dry needling, in conjunction with appropriate exercise prescription. Often, surgical management is not required unless the knee is clicking, locking and giving way. Your physiotherapist will be able to advise whether a surgical consultation is required. 

The dreaded ACL is an unfortunate reality in many sports, yet it is suggested that up to 80% of these injuries occur in non-contact situations!

Most commonly, these injuries occur when changing directions at speed or landing for a jump. These injuries are more common in female athletes compared to male athletes. It is though this occurs due to differences in biomechanics, muscle imbalances and hormones. 

A ruptured ACL is often associated with an audible ‘pop’ in the knee. Full ruptures are often less painful than significant tears where the ligament is not fully ruptured.

Your physiotherapist can identify an ACL tear with specific testing and can identify whether further investigations such as an MRI is required. They are a key member in the rehabilitation team both prior to and following an operation.  

• Anterior Cruciate Ligament tears
• Medial Collateral Ligament tears
• Meniscal Injuries
• Posterior Cruciate Ligament tears
• Lateral Collateral Ligament tears
• Patella fractures and dislocations
• Patellar tendon ruptures
• Quadriceps tendon ruptures
• Fractures of the tibal plateau
• Coronary ligament sprains

Click the image above or follow the link to learn more about our sports physiotherapy service. 

Move Physiotherapy can also partner with your sporting club or organisation to provide match day assessments and injury management. Send us an email at [email protected] for more information.

Our physiotherapists are experts in Dry Needling treatment. Dry Needling can be highly effective in releasing deep muscular trigger points that are not responding to traditional massage techniques. Click on the image above or follow the link to learn more information about our dry needling treatments. 

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When an elite athlete goes down, they receive intensive, almost daily physiotherapy in order to return them to their peak as quickly as possible. With our unlimited program, you can receive this same level of service for only $150/week. Click on the image above or follow the link to learn more information.