GET RELIEF FROM KNEE PAIN

A lot of athletes pronate excessively, which means their foot flattens out more than it should in their sports activity. When the foot and the arch collapse, the knee rotates inward, and the angle of the hip increases this is called the Q- angle.  In the old days, we used to call it knock-knees. This misalignment causes multiple complications in and around the knee. With the increase of the Q-angle, the quadriceps tendon, which is in the front of your knee, pulls too much to the outside of the knee, and the knee is no longer functioning in its normal position. The kneecap or patella, which is a V-shaped bone that should fit in the V-shaped groove in the femur or thighbone no longer does. The patella with this inward positioning and foot collapse shears down the inside of the knee joint and rides up on the outside of the knee joint instead of sitting in the knee joint groove.

This shearing occurs 10,000 times a day and causes the cartilage under the kneecap to wear out. Once this cartilage is damaged you get pain. Unfortunately, this pain can become so severe that 90% of athletes have to stop running. They even get pain with walking and going up and down stairs.

Although physical therapy can help by strengthening the muscles in and around the front and the back of the knee, the cure comes from putting the kneecap or the patella back in its smooth groove in the femur or thigh bone. This happens by supporting the arch and preventing the foot from collapsing. This is when it’s time to see a sports medicine specialist who is trained in performing a lower extremity biomechanical exam. At the end of your exam, you may be prescribed a cushioned custom-made orthotic device. This would then allow the knee to return to its normal functioning position and sure enough your knee pain will disappear.