I often see patients for various back and neck pain on a daily basis, but a lot of people don’t know that chiropractic care can help them with their knee pain.  Often, when patients seek our services for evaluation and treatment, they will ask if there is anything I can do for their knees.  The answer lies in the evaluation and causative factors which started the knee pain.

KNEE PAIN CAUSES
There has been a lot of research generated on the relationship between the feet and the lower back.  In our profession, we call this relationship a kinematic chain.  In other words, performance of the feet has a direct relationship to the performance of the knees, hips and lower back.  Here is an example: if you were to stand with your fingertips on the head of your hips (this is where the hip attaches in the pelvis), and wiggle your foot just a little, you could feel the movement in the hip joint.  With slight movement in your foot, you could feel this effect on your hips.  So when I evaluate patients for knee problems, I always start with their feet.  The biggest culprit for degeneration in the knees, is flat feet or as we call it “pronation”.  Flat feet cause the knee to internally rotate more than is needed, and when we do this continually over the years, it creates the abnormal forces that cause “wear and tear” to the knees causing degeneration.  Now remember the example with wiggling the feet and how it affects the hips?  Well, this abnormal force that is wearing down the knee joints will eventually start causing problems in the hips and lower back because of this kinematic relationship.

KNEE PAIN TREATMENT
So, how can I help? I’m glad you asked!  First, we evaluate the feet for pronation (flat feet).  If pronation is present, we recommend custom made orthotics to support the arches so that abnormal stress is taken off the knee.  After this, we correct any abnormal joint movement in the knees, hips and lower back with chiropractic care.  With this protocol, and additional physiotherapy, most patients will see some type of results.  Unfortunately chiropractic cannot fix all knee problems.  If this is the case, a proper a referral to the orthopedic doctor is initiated.  We have experienced success with patellar tracking issues, mild arthritis, and ITB syndromes to name a few.  I always recommend conservative care first before painful injections and knee surgery, if there is a chance to improve it structurally.  As always, a structural problem requires a structural specialist and that is what we do here at Chiropractic & Wellness Center.   Until next time, live life to the fullest!