Knee Information

Get some information about your knee problem right here!

If you have pain in or around you knee, this page will give information in getting good care for your problem. If you have not seen a professional yet about your problem this page offers you some general guidelines about who you should see for your problem and some things you can do for yourself to make the problem better. If you have already seen a physician (chiropractic or medical) and have been diagnosed with a specific condition this page offers you details about your condition and how we treat it. Here you will also learn important criteria for when we can't help your problem and will refer to another physician.

General Remarks on Knee Problems

Here are some characteristics of knee pain.

1. With most knee problems, you will usually experience pain when you are weight bearing (standing, walking etc.).

2. Some knee problems don't cause pain with walking on a flat surface but if you walk up or down stairs you can get pain.

3. You might get pain only when squatting, jumping, running, kneeling, sitting on your heels, or changing direction when running or walking.

4. Time is also a factor. In some cases you may be able to run 10 minutes before pain starts. Some people can go for a run or jog without knee pain, but then pain starts when they complete their workout.

5. Some knee problems will be painful when you sit with your knee bent for a while (you feel like you want to straighten you knee out all the time to get relief).

6. Some people have pain when their knee is not bearing weight. This may be the case of a swollen knee. This may also be the case of a knee problem that occurs after a prolonged activity such as running or walking a distance.

7. Some knee pain is not due to a problem within or around the knee itself. It is common for problems in the hip or back to cause knee pain. This is called referred pain. Therefore it is very important to get a thorough examination and an accurate diagnosis before beginning treatment.

Here are Some Other Characteristics of Knee Problems

1. Stiffness
   This feeling is usually due to arthritis in the knee or problems with the knee cap.

2. Your knee "gives way."  
   What we mean by "gives way" is the feeling that your knee is temporarily unstable and can't support your body weight.

3. The knee cap moves out of place
   This occurs when the muscles around the knee cap are weak or when the bones of the knee and knee cap or misshappen.

4. Knee Catching
   This is a momentary locking or giving away due to pain.

5. Knee locking
   True locking of the knee where you can't move it at all is rare. Sometimes with severe swelling knee movement is impossible, but this is only the case until the swelling is resolved. Locking of the knee most often refers to an inability to straighten the knee fully. This is a problem with a meniscus in the knee. Link to meniscus.

6. Grating or clicking sounds when you move the knee
   This is caused by cartilage degeneration as in Arthritis or by one knee structure's snapping over another structure.

7. Swelling
   Swelling may occur during activity, after activity or it may feel swollen all the time.

Do Chiropractors treat meniscus problems?

Does Dr. Schwartz do physical therapy on the knee?
Can I see Dr. Schwartz for rehabilitation following my knee surgery?
General guidelines
Detailed characteristics of knee
General homecare measures that will be useful.
Detailed information about the treatment we offer for knee conditions
Knee/leg pictures

Questions to answer

What kind of knee problems do we treat?
How do we treat these problems?
Should I see my MD first?
Will I need surgery?
What exercises should I do for my knee?
Do chiropractors treat knee problems?

Tendinitis
Extensor patellar tendinitis/tendinosis (Runner's or jumper's knee)
Osgood-schlatter disease
Sinding-Larsen-Johansson disease
Hamstring Insertional tendinitis
Popliteal tendon lesion
Iliotibial band friction syndrome
Gastrocnemius-Soleus strain
Bursitis
Baker's cyst
Pes Anserinus bursitis
Osteoarthritis
Ligamentous sprains
Collateral ligament sprain
Medial collateral ligament sprain
Lateral (Fibular) collateral ligament sprain
Anterior cruciate ligament injury
Posterior cruciate ligament injury
Meniscal lesions

If you have been told you have a problem with a meniscus please read this information.

There are two menisci (the medial and the lateral) in your knee. They are labeled in figure 1. They are both C shaped rings of cartilage. They contribute to the stability of the knee joint and also perform a shock-absorbing function. They are frequent injured by traumatic injuries such as slipping and falling, sports injuries or anything that quickly exceed the normal movement capabilities of the knee. However they are also injured by normal wear and tear. The menisci are made up of the same cartilage that exists in the disc of your spine. Anyone over the age of 50 or so can have a meniscus problem from routine normal wear and tear.

We treat meniscus injuries quite well in our office and have helped several people avoid surgery. If you

They are vital to the function of the human knee. Until the 1980's the lack of understanding of the crucial role of the menisci lead to the axiom "When in doubt, take it out". This resulted in many unnecessary surgical removals of menisci. Complete removal of a meniscus has been shown to cause severe arthritis in the knee. Currently, arthroscopic surgery has made it possible to remove parts of a meniscus

Do you need surgery?
Loose bodies
Osteochondritis dissecans
Medial plica syndrome
Patellofemoral dysfunction
Patellar malaligment
Patellofemoral arthrosis/arthritis
Patellar subluxation
Entrapment syndromes
Preoneal nerve entrapment
Saphenous nerve entrapment
Sural nerve entrapment
Tibia neuropathy
Tarsal tunnel syndrome
Medial tibial stress syndrome (shin splints)

There are two general categories of knee problems:

knee problems
pain that is referred to the knee.

Knee problems are many and varied. There are many structures around and in the knee that can be the source of pain.

Observe your knee- Do you see any of these?

It is helpful to note the activities that cause you pain because a big goal of treatment is for you to be able to return to these activities without pain.

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