Blog Post

Knee Osteoarthritis (OA)

Karen Worsfold • 5 May 2022

How Physiotherapy can help knee OA

Knee pain can be caused by many reasons. A common cause can be OA which is when the surfaces of the joint are damaged or worn, so the joint does not move as smoothly as it could. Over time this leads to stiffness and pain. It commonly occurs in mid to late forties but can occur earlier as a result of previous injury.

Physiotherapy can be greatly beneficial for knee OA and often delays the need for surgery e.g., knee replacement. Your Physiotherapist will conduct a thorough examination of your knee to assess how the muscles, joints and nerves are working and identify which structures of your knee are likely to be affected. A treatment plan will be discussed with you and a will be specific to your needs and goals, based on the best evidence available.

Your treatment plan may include some of the following:

advice on pain and swelling management,
exercises to increase movement,
exercises to increase strength,
exercises to improve balance and endurance,
manual therapy (mobilisations, tissue massage, tissue release etc)
taping

The stronger and more flexible an OA knee becomes with Physio, usually results in pain reduction. Learning how to look after your OA knee also helps: patients often to do too little or too much which can lead to poorly managed pain.

If pain is interfering with your general day to day activities and is not settling, you may need to seek advice form your GP/Pharmacist. They can offer advice on tablets and creams such as Capsaicin, to help control your knee pain and allow you to continue exercising.

For further resources backed by research please see below -

https://www.versusarthritis.org

https://escape-pain.org

https://www.csp.org.uk/conditions/knee-pain

If you would like any help with your OA knee, please do not hesitate to call us to arrange an appointment with one of our experienced physiotherapists on 01242 673507

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What is Therapeutic Laser?

by Lucy Donnelly • 15 October 2024

What is therapeutic laser? And how does it work? Therapeutic laser uses the power of light to reduce pain, inflammation and swelling as well as to encourage your body’s own healing mechanisms. It’s great for treating a huge range of problems including tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, wounds, bursitis, muscle tears and injuries. Laser can be used on both chronic (long term) and acute (recent) conditions. My 2 most recent successes that have totally stunned me as to how well they responded were a chronic back pain giving sciatic pain in the leg and an acute knee anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Both very different conditions where we used different layered settings, but both responded incredibly well and only needed up to 3 treatments. We have had our laser machine for 18 months now and I've only had 2 patients wish to stop their treatments due to limited benefits... most are keen to have the full course of 6 treatments or more. Laser therapy involves directing light energy into inflamed or damaged tissue to accelerate the body's natural healing process. The laser is placed in direct contact with the skin which enables specific wavelengths of light to penetrate the tissue and interact with molecules within the cells to cause several biochemical effects. One of the most important effects of laser therapy is encouraging blood flow into the area being treated. This means the cells there have a better supply of oxygen and nutrients and that waste products and swelling can be flushed out. Laser helps to reduce pain by slowing down the speed of the pain messages in nerves and it reduces inflammation by lowering the number of cells promoting the inflammatory process in the area treated. After laser treatment muscles are better able to relax and movement can become easier as a result. The treatment is painless, non-invasive and offers a drug free alternative to anti-inflammatories, pain killers and steroid injections. If you’re interested in how laser treatment could help you, please get in touch for more information 01242 673507 or mail@villageclinic.co.uk