Here at Barefoot Physiotherapy, we treat a lot of knee related issues.  What we’ve found is that for most people, knee pain is never as straightforward as we would like. If you think about the knees as the connecting factor between your feet that carry you around all day, and your hips and pelvis that are main force distributors, then it makes sense that the knee may be aggravated by one of these other areas. In fact, at Barefoot Physio, our approach can narrow it down to treat the underlying cause of your knee pain and create prevention strategies so that you can go back to activity without a worry. Your days of ‘having bad knees’ will be history.

There are diagnoses and knee pain terms that are commonly thought to be the cause of knee pain. Patellofemoral pain syndrome is probably the most used term, which essentially just describes anterior knee pain with no underlying cause of explanation. Other common terms include:

• Knee inflammation – this most likely presents with a direct injury or incident involving the knee, we will test the surrounding structures using physiotherapy special tests, and can refer for imaging if there is a concern of a structural injury
• Knee sprains and strains – rehabilitation involves first deloading the muscle or area that was strained, then teaching the body to reload it without aggravation
• Iliotibial band syndrome – we will take a look at the surrounding muscles that are all attaching to the ITB, like the quads, hamstrings and hip flexors to see what might be creating this irritation to begin with. The deloading then reloading principle is essential in rehabbing this type of knee pain
• Growing pains – in younger kids, activities that are aggravating may need to be modified while the body copes with these changes, and we can use our hands on treatment to reduce the amount of pain input that the body is getting
• Knee arthritis – physio and exercise are crucial for long term management of knee arthritis. We will work with each client to find what type of activity is most suitable and the type of activity that is enjoyable!

Other conditions we treat around the knee at Barefoot Physio:

• Quad strain
• Hamstring strain
• Knee cap pain (patellar pain)
• Bursitis
• Ligament repairs
  • ACL reconstruction
  • ACL rehabilitation – conservative management
  • MCL rehabilitation
  • PCL and LCL rehabilitation
• Meniscus injuries or repair
• Calf strains or tears

Your experience with knee pain will be different from another client also coming in with knee pain. We assess and treat according to your individual symptoms and goals. We will measure your ankle mobility, knee movements, hip movements and likely back movements. Getting to the root of the issue is what we are committed to. We want to help you get back into your running, or playing with you kids, or prep you for the next hike, or being able to go up and down stairs pain free.

If you or someone you know has had a recent knee injury, or a pain that has been around for a while, please contact us. We are open 5 days a week with early and late appointments, along with a couple Saturdays each month to accommodate your schedule. Please call us on 1300 842 850 or click here to book an appointment.