Are You Living With Hip or Knee Pain? Physical Therapy Can Help
There are so many causes of hip and knee pain, from excess weight to sports injuries, advancing age to repetitive motion injuries. Whatever the cause of your hip and/or knee pain, if you are experiencing it regularly you need to find a way to manage it.
Many people use medications like anti-inflammatories to minimize their discomfort. However, these medications have potential side effects, so it can be helpful to find other ways to relieve your pain. Physical therapy may be the solution you are looking for.
The many benefits of physical therapy
Once our physical therapist has isolated the underlying cause of your hip or knee pain, we can prescribe techniques to help you start feeling – and moving – more like your old self.
Physical therapy for hip or knee pain may start with passive exercises, in which we move the afflicted joint for you to increase its pain-free range of motion.
Exercises that reduce the amount of weight on the joints can also be extremely helpful. For instance, we may recommend swimming or “water walking” as a way to exercise the hips and knees without also forcing them to bear your full weight.
Other types of exercises can also help you overcome your hip or knee pain while improving joint function. Strengthening exercises help by reinforcing the muscles and connective tissues that serve the joint. Corrective exercises and neuromuscular re-education can help you maintain a straighter, more symmetrical posture.
“Last but not least, holistic physical therapy offers a variety of hands-on and hi-tech methods beyond exercise. A holistic approach integrates various methods to treat the root cause of your joint pain, such as myofascial release, joint mobilization, soft tissue massage, trigger point therapy, cold laser therapy, Pilates Matwork Therapy, and more!”
Physical therapy over prescription drugs
No one wants to live in pain. But no one should put their health at risk to be pain-free. Doctor-prescribed opioids are appropriate in some cases, but they just mask the pain—and opioid risks include depression, overdose, and addiction, plus withdrawal symptoms when stopping use.
That’s why the CDC recommends safer alternatives like physical therapy to manage pain.
When it comes to your health, you have a choice. Choose more movement and better health. Choose physical therapy!
Physical therapy for hip and knee pain relief
You may discover pain relief when you are going through your physical therapy treatments, but what about when you go home?
A major goal of physical therapy is to heal your injuries in the long-term. The various exercises and treatments physical therapist’s use with you will steadily improve your condition so that you experience less pain on a daily basis.
As your body gets stronger and more mobile, you are likely to experience less pain in your hips and knees.
What can I expect from my treatment plan?
At Wellspring, our physical therapists and sports medicine providers work as a team utilizing a holistic approach to treat hip and knee pain, which may include:
- Manual Therapy. Manual therapy is a holistic approach that mobilizes and releases stiff joints, muscles, and soft tissues, increasing your range of motion. Our physical therapists have received extensive training in specialized manual therapy techniques, including myofascial release, joint mobilization, soft tissue massage, and active release technique (ART).
- Pilates Matwork Therapy. Unlike conventional physical therapy, which focuses on strengthening just the area of pain, our holistic approach creates healthy coordinated movement through the whole body to reduce pain and support long-term recovery. A common root cause of hip and knee pain is weak, tight core muscles. Pilates Matwork Therapy rehabilitates the core muscles that stabilize the pelvis, hips, and knees.
- Cold Laser Therapy. Cold Lasers AKA Low-Level Lasers are an amazing technology that significantly enhances the effects of physical therapy. Exercises and therapy procedures work at the level of the soft tissues and joints. Low-Level Lasers work at the cells’ level by increasing the energy that cells need to regenerate and heal and increase the ability of cells to communicate with each other.
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation. This modality can trigger an innate and completely natural analgesic effect by stimulating specific sensory nerve fibers (including A-beta, A-delta, and C fibers), which decrease the sensation of pain and release neurotransmitters that prolong the pain-relieving effects.
- Trigger Point Injections. Trigger point injections are proven effective for chronic pain management. Trigger points are hyperirritable spots in tight bands of muscles and can often be felt as a tender knot. They can restrict movement, cause muscle weakness, and refer or radiate pain into other parts of the body. Our sports medicine providers work with our physical therapists to determine if you would benefit from trigger point injections.
- Therapeutic Exercises. Loss of muscular strength can contribute significantly to hip and knee pain because the weaker your muscles get, the more stress is put on your joints. Physical therapy centers around specific exercises designed to target various muscles and strengthen them so that they better support your joints.
- Identify the causes of your hip and knee pain. There may be one or several reasons why you are experiencing hip and knee pain. A physical therapist can examine your posture, test muscle strength, and joint movement to help identify the root cause of your pain. Once they identify the root cause, physical therapists can create an effective recovery plan.
Find relief today!
Contact Wellspring Health Center to book a Free Consultation with a physical therapist for your hip and knee pain. We accept most insurance plans, and you can see us directly without a doctor’s referral in most cases.
Tags: Wellspring Health Center, health and wellness, physical activity, physical therapist, fitness, physical fitness, physical therapy, Hip and Knee Pains, Health, Natural Treatment, Natural Pain Relief, Knee Pain, Hip Pain
