The lunge is a very common exercise to strength the lower quarter. I commonly use the exercise to address lower quarter weakness, motor control or coordination impairments, and conditioning needs. Often patients will experience knee pain, either in the forward or backward leg while performing the movement. Changing the alignment of the trunk, hip, or...
In a previous post, we detailed the latest research on the importance of ankle mobility on knee mechanics. During weight bearing the shin, tibia, must be able to move forward over the fixed ankle and foot. Without adequate ankle flexibility and shin moved over the foot to the inside placing the knee at risk of...
Knee arthritis is a common, costly condition affecting a large percentage of middle aged and older adults. Physical Therapy remains the gold standard of care for knee arthritis due to its’ ability to delay or prevent the need for a total knee replacement. One of the foundations of Physical Therapy care includes strength training for the...
Tears in the meniscus, cartilage within our knees, can occur due to injury or degeneration attributed to the aging process. The latter is a much more frequent scenario and often these tears are found on MRIs of patients without knee pain. These false positive results cast doubt on the direct correlation between a picture of...
Our imaging technologies have made tremendous improvements in their ability to detect abnormalities in our body. These positive findings may or may not be related to our current symptoms including stiffness, giving way, or pain. We have seen improvements in the sensitivity of these tests where we are able to detect individuals with the condition...
Knee Osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of disability today. This painful condition limits an individual’s ability to walk, climb stairs, stand, and participate in recreational activities. Patient’s often demonstrate significant impairments in mobility and strength in both the knee, but also the ankle and hip. When evaluating patients with knee arthritis, Physical Therapists...
Meniscal tears are a common knee diagnosis and can occur either traumatically or gradually over time. This latter type of meniscal tear, degenerative, was previously treated with arthroscopic surgery and post operative physical therapy but more recent research has changed our practice patterns with this patient population. Specifically, research shows no benefit of surgery over...
Patient’s with knee arthritis often experience pain with weight bearing activities including, standing, walking, stair climbing, and hiking. In our Physical Therapy practice, we find impairments of range of motion, gait deviations, balance, and strength within this patient population. In particular, weakness of the quadricep and hip musculature contributes to pain during weight bearing activities....
ACL injuries are one of the most common sports medicine injuries encountered in a Physical Therapy practice. These injuries can be treated successfully with either conservative or surgical interventions depending on the athlete’s presentation and athletic goals. In addition to the post injury management of these athletes, researchers and clinicians have also focused on reducing...
Patellar Tendon pain, also known as jumper’s knee, is a painful condition most commonly seen in athlete’s engaged in jumping sports such as track and field, basketball, and volleyball. Common causes of this condition include training errors (too much too soon) and underlying weakness in the quadricep and hip musculature. The gold standard of treatment...
