We treat a lot of knee pain at our Oakville chiropractic and shockwave clinic. Whether the knee pain is the result of a muscular imbalance, strained or torn ligaments, a strained meniscus, or an inflamed tendon, shockwave therapy can help!
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome Treatment in Oakville – Shockwave
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome develops from an imbalance in the knee, which is a result of the muscles on the inside of the knee being weaker than the muscles on the outside. Sometimes this imbalance is so apparent that you can see the difference in muscle size! This imbalance can lead to the knee cap ‘translating’ inward. As the kneecap slides medially , it doesn’t track through it’s designated groove properly, causing some friction and irritation felt behind the patella.
Read More About Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome Here
Shockwave can help in two ways. Firstly, it can help stimulate the muscles on the inside of the knee (specifically, your vastus medialis obliques). Shockwave can help wake up the nerves and ensure there is proper neurological input getting to the muscles. This is particularly helpful to ensure that the muscles can fully activate during strengthening exercises – which is the most important aspect of recovery for this condition. Secondly, Shockwave Therapy can help alleviate tight muscles on the outside of the leg and restore balance between the muscles to promote proper mechanics of the knee joint.
Knee and Leg Pain Anatomy
Medial Meniscus Injury Treatment Oakville
The medial meniscus is a c-shaped cushion that sits between your femur (upper leg bone) and tibia (lower leg bone). This structure helps to support the knee under load, cushions the joint and distributes forces through the knee joint. When the meniscus gets irritated or tears, it can become quite painful. This occurs when the knee rotates on a firmly planted leg. Signs of a meniscus strain includes inability to fully extend the knee, clicking/locking, and pain with going up and down stairs. Our Oakville therapy team typically gets more patients with Medial Meniscus injuries at the beginning of the ski season and when kids go back to indoor soccer or sports played on “bad” turf.
More Information on Medial Meniscus Tears
Shockwave Therapy can be very helpful in managing the pain and swelling associated with meniscus strains and tears. There is even one shockwave point that can be applied directly onto the meniscus to help reduce inflammation and promote healing to a structure that already doesn’t get a great amount of blood supply (and therefore is a natural-born self-healer). Stimulating the nerves around the knee, via shockwave, can help limit discomfort and swelling.
Shockwave and Knee Osteoarthritis in Oakville
Our joints don’t always age as gracefully as we’d like them to. Typically, most people over 50 begin to show arthritis of the knees on an x-ray. For some people that osteoarthritis is completely asymptomatic and they will never experience a day of knee pain in their life. For other people, knee osteoarthritis can become painful, and that wear and tear on the joints can start to impact quality of life. Dr. Steve has seen some amazing things at our Oakville clinic since we started using a very specific shockwave protocol for “seniors” with moderate to severe knee arthritis. The knee arthritis shockwave stimulates “angiogenisis” which is a fancy word for making new blood vessels. These new blood vessels help remove inflammation from a painful knee joint and allows the body to transmit more nutrient to the affected tissue, allowing the painful knee to heal!
Learn More About Knee Osteoarthritis Here
Osteoarthritis is the narrowing of the joint space in the knee. The cartilage in the knee wears down, and the surfaces of the bone get closer together. Without the normal smooth gliding surface of the cartilage, the knee can become painful. Our knees are weight-bearing joints, so they can get worn down from the walking, running, squatting, and standing that we do every single day. We have two compartments in the knee, one medially (on the inside) and one laterally (on the outside). The medial compartment gets affected most often.
Shockwave can be an amazing tool to manage osteoarthritis! Shockwave Therapy can help draw blood flow into the knee, and therefore help lubricate the joint and decrease some of the pain from the bone-on-bone contact of osteoarthritis.
Try Some Of Our Beginner Knee Exercises
Shockwave For Knee Ligament Sprain
There are 4 main ligaments in the knee; ACL, PCL, LCL, and MCL. For these injuries, shockwave can be a beneficial modality in combination with other manual techniques and exercises. At their worst, these injuries can require surgery and more extensive therapeutic interventions, but when the injuries are less severe they respond well to immediate conservative care.
Shockwave for ligament strains is aimed at controlling swelling, and encouraging healing to the injured ligaments. The MCL and LCL can be stimulated directly with a specific shockwave applicator head, as they can easily be felt on the inside and outside of the knee complex. When the ACL is injured it can often cause a lot of swelling. Shockwave is very effective at limiting the swelling and preventing it from lingering around too long.
Book Your Knee Pain Treatment Today!