According to World Health Organization (WHO), Knee pain is one of the most common reported route of Musculoskeletal complaints across the globe, with the highest burden by high-income countries. That is ironical given the fact that the western nations spend billions of dollars in healthcare annually. However, the fact is that wealth is a parent of luxury and in our days luxury has had a provision of not using muscles which leads to weakening of the body and knees more so.
Read up on the main culprits of knee pain, and the way the integrative therapy is transforming the perception and treatment of chronic knee pain.
Occurrence of Knee Pain and Methods used in Treatment
The rate of knee pain has been on a continuous upward trend of the last few decades, with the prevalence almost climbing up in twofold since the mid 1800s. Knee pain in the young population can be as a result of traumatic and repetitive use injuries which are mostly sports and exercise related. However, to people aged between middle age and old age, knee osteoarthritis (KOA) contributes to their chronic knee pain, which is the case as stated in the Knee Pain Centers of America.
The knee osteoarthritis is regarded as the degenerative joint disorder, i.e. it will get worse. Management of KOA mainly focuses on the reduction of pain with intake of NSAIDs (ibuprofen and naproxen) and injections of corticosteroids to alleviate pain and inflammation. Walking aids such as canes, walkers and knee braces can aid in giving some form of stability whilst having a slight decreasing effect on the amount of pressure exerted on the knees. All those methods do not help to reduce the pace of development of knee pain, they merely conceal it.
Today new approach to the treatment of knee pain using a more holistic approach to musculoskeletal disorders provides a challenge to the traditionally-based medical approach to knee pain intervention by integrative practitioners. The symptom of pain can never be mistaken to be the condition itself. Holistic practitioners do not need to treat at the locus of the pain; they would look at the entire body to establish the cause of knee pain. As soon as the cause is established a course of treatment can be established that will get rid of the cause of knee pain and in some cases permanently remove it.
Epidemic of knee pain what is the cause?
The causes of knee pains are numerous and there is nothing like one solution fits all. The fact that knee pain is treated will never eradicate the cause of the same as it will only deflect the can to a later date when it will become manifest in crippling. However, we now understand that degeneration of the knees is not 100 percent.
With the ability to identify the contributing factors that hurt an individual patient in his or her knees, we can utilize both the advanced regenerative technologies and individualized physical rehabilitation to put the development of knee pain to a stop and reinstate painless movements.
Causes of chronic knee pain are:
- Pre-existing injuries due to failure to adequately rehabilitate the ligaments, tendons and other structures. The lack of rehabilitation leads to the bad mechanics of the knees, and further to the establishment of osteoarthritis in the future, as a person ages.
- Metabolic disease with chronic systemic inflammation, hyper-tension, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Studies established that metabolic syndrome is closely related to the advancement of knee OA.
- Obesity. Besides being a risk factor of metabolic disease, extra body weight places undue stress on the structures upon which the knee joints are supported.
- Physical inactivity. Our knees are made to keep us going which is not quite the case in majority of the modern lifestyles. This not loading the knees on regular basis results to the weakening of supporting structures and you are also at high risk of injury and pain in the knees.
- Excessive sitting. Having the knees and hips flexed continuously at 90 degrees causes the muscle balances that ought to harm the joint position and performance. This creeps in after some time and the stability of the knees is impaired and loads are unequal and thus the structures of the knees are destroyed.
- Overuse though running repetitively. The problem of inefficient gait mechanics is a likely cause and runners may have their gait corrected with the help of 3D running gait analysis.
With help of Integrative Therapy Knee Pain can be Stopped – How?
Integrative therapists look at the entire patient and not at your symptoms. Anatomy among people is as varied as the color of the eyes, so to achieve the best results, treatment has to be personalised. Given the fact that medical doctors practice a reductionistic approach, holistic therapists do not specify one part of the body as an isolated entity and its neighbors, but they acknowledge that the structures of a body are interconnected. Dysfunctions of one part of body influence other parts of it along the whole kinetic chain.
Integrative care of knee takes into consideration several factors that can influence the functioning of the knee and they include:
- Tendinopathies leading to degeneration of the tendons.
- Meniscus tears and ligament ruptures patients that have not been cured or treated inadequately.
- Scar tissue and adhesion which occur as a result of surgery.
- Nerves that transmit pain to the brain, they are compressed or entangled.
- Weak and imbalanced muscles that cause the alignment of the knee to fall out of place.
- Other proximal problems of the kinetic chain affecting knee mechanics.
- Activities that lead to the damage of knee tissues.
The integrative program of treating knee pain is dual in nature, i.e. it involves repair and healing of damaged tissues to resolve knee functionality and strengthening the supporting structures of individuals in the quest to enhance stability and mobility. To make the physical therapy a success, there must be pre treatment of the tissues that support and surround the knees.
Regenerative treatments (shockwaves, Prolotherapy, PRP injections) are possible to stimulate the new formation of tissues and repair eroded cartilage and collagen fibers by a holistic therapist. The fascial manipulation therapy will aid in eliminating the scar formation and adhesions that limit movement leading to nerve entrapment. Dry needling eradicates myofascial triggers of action in muscles.
When damaged tissues are dealt with and healed, then individual physical therapy can be used to beam knee stability and mobility through strengthening and balancing of the knee-holding structures, bettering of the gait and position, as well as, nail of joint position.
How to Locate an Integative Knee Pain Expert in NYC
NYC has many physical therapy clinics and not all of them are providers of advanced integrative therapies. A clinic with high-resolution diagnostic ultrasound should be found, in order to receive a correct diagnosis. The technology of ultrasound also plays a key role in the generation of regenerative therapies with the accurate information of delivery to specific tissues, to achieve the desired outcomes.
This rehab service is offered in one of the few NYDNRehab clinics in Manhattan which offers regenerative treatment of knee pains. The clinic has a high resolution ultrasound in case of precise diagnosis, and it is used to direct advanced regenerating therapies. In their total and individual approach to knee rehabilitation, they have saved dozens of patients of knee surgery, were able to restore normal pain-free functional movement without their knees, and their quality of life improved.
Resources
Nguyen, Uyen-Sa DT, et al. Increasing prevalence of knee pain and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: survey and cohort data. Ann intern med. 2011 Sep 6; 155(11): 725-732.
Szilagyi, I. A., et al. Metabolic syndrome, radiographic osteoarthritis progression and chronic pain of the knee among men and women of the general population: The Rotterdam study. Seiminars on Arthritis and Rheumatism. Vol. 69. Carmichael, WB Saunders (2024).
Information on the Author
Dr. Lev Kalika is the globally recognized musculoskeletal ultrasonography professional, and he has at least 20 years of experience in the field of advanced rehabilitative medicine. Besides running his Manhattan-based clinic, he also conducts peer-reviewed research relating to ultrasound-guided therapies and processes that he publishes on a regular basis.
