Knee pain
The knee is one of the the largest joints in the body. It is a major weightbearing joint and is one of the most frequently injured joints in the human body.
Book an osteo appointment to talk about your knee pain
Find an osteoKnee injuries can happen suddenly (e.g. during sport or exercise) or from wear and tear over time. Many knee conditions can be managed with the right combination of advice, exercise and treatment.
Your osteo will find out the cause of your knee pain and help you correct the mechanics of your knee and other joints so that you can move around with confidence and comfort.
An interesting fact – did you know that knee osteoarthritis accounts for 85% of the burden of arthritis worldwide. Key treatments include education, exercise and weight loss.
Talk to your osteo today about how you can manage your knee pain.
Learn about knee rehabilitation from the team at The Osteo Joint:
Read more detail about knee injuries at:
Knee osteoarthritis
High‐quality evidence shows that, among people with knee Osteoarthritis, exercise moderately reduced pain immediately after cessation of treatment and improved quality of life only slightly, without an increase in dropouts. Further research is unlikely to change the estimate of these results.
Moderate‐quality evidence indicates that exercise moderately improved physical function immediately after cessation of treatment. Further research may change the estimate of these results (Fransen 2015).
Leg clinical exercises may relieve pain for older adults with hip or knee osteoarthritis. Some exercise combinations may be better at relieving pain than others (NCOR 2018).
Needling of the hip or knee may relieve pain and stiffness for older patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee (Witt et al 2006).
Patellar tendinopathy
Sports taping, strapping, dry needling and skilled clinical exercise prescription may decrease pain in the short term and improve movement. Exercise programs may result in long term movement improvement and less pain in daily activities over time. (Van der Doelen & Jelly 2020; Challoumas et al 2021). Dry needling may also help reduce movement issues over the longer term (Van der Doelen & Jelly 2020).
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury (ACL)
Osteopaths may design clinical exercise programs with more than one phase or stage. For example, a program can include exercises tailored to when you are first injured, to control inflammation, and restore motion or function. Phased clinical exercise programs may reduce long term pain and improve knee function for adults with ACL injuries (Monk et al 2016).
You may have had a surgery to help manage your ACL. Osteopaths prescribe clinical exercise to help prepare people for surgery and recovery post-surgery. Knee movement and stabilisation exercises are acknowledged as good practice for improving your post-surgical recovery (Andrade et al 2020).
Fransen F et al. 2015. Exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
National Council for Osteopathic Research, ‘Exercise therapy in the management of hip and knee osteoarthritis: a summary of the recent relevant research’, National Centre for Osteopathic Research (May 2018)
Witt, C.M., et al ‘Acupuncture in Patients With Osteoarthritis of the Knee or Hip’, Arthritis & Rheumatism (2006); 54 (11)
Hunter, D. J., & Bierma-Zeinstra, S. (2019) ‘Osteoarthritis’, Lancet (London, England), 393(10182), 1745–1759.
Trevor Vander Doelen , Wilma Jelley, ‘Non-surgical treatment of patellar tendinopathy: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials’, J Sci Med Sport, 2020 Feb;23(2):118-124
Dimitris Challoumas, et al ‘Management of patellar tendinopathy: a systematic review and network metaanalysis of randomised studies’, BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2021;7, 1-11
Monk AP, et al, ‘Surgical versus conservative interventions for treating anterior cruciate ligament injuries’, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2016, Issue 4
Renato Andrade, et al, ‘How should clinicians rehabilitate patients after ACL reconstruction? A systematic review of clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) with a focus on quality appraisal (AGREE II)’, Br J Sports Med 2020;54:512–519