Runner's Knee

It is the time of year when we see the most overuse injuries. The summer is the time people are most active, and with activity comes injury. There injuries are not fun, but at least most of them can be explained. We see more golfer's elbow from people golfing, tennis elbow from people playing racket sports, and runner's knee. 

Today we are going to focus on runner's knee. As we bend and straighten our knee the patella (knee cap) should move into grooves on the femur and tibia. With normal motion this happens smoothly and the patella doesn't bang around. If we develop an imbalance in the quadricep muscles, the motion can be thrown off. This causes the patella to not move smoothly and hit the edges of the tibia or femur. As this happens, the area becomes inflamed. If you are walking or running for longer distances, then this collision is happening over and over. The swelling and irritation increases to the point that it is difficult to walk or run at all. 

Here at Sports and Family Chiropractic we try to reduce the inflammation. We will do ultrasound, electric stimulation, and kinesio taping to reduce the inflammation. We will also adjust the knee and stretch the muscles around the knee. With the stretching, there will also be muscle stripping to help reduce adhesions that have built up around the knee cap. After the treatments to the knee, at exercises and at home instructions will be given to help further the progress. 

If you are or someone you know in O'fallon, Lake St. Louis, or Dardenne Prairie are having issues with runner's knee, please contact Sports and Family Chiropractic.