I treat a lot of knees!
Osteopaths are known as back specialists, but we are trained to treat the whole body and one of the most common areas that I work with are knees. From regular maintenance of osteoarthritis to diagnosis and treatment of injuries, osteopaths are trained to distinguish the cause and treat (or refer) accordingly. But sometimes the problem isn't actually your knee and here are a couple of examples.
Is something getting on your nerves?
The nerves that control your knee movement and sensation all originate from your lower back and have to pass under, around and through muscles, bones and connective tissues before they get to where they are going. If those tissues are not behaving themselves then nerves can become impinged, causing pain, altered sensation and loss of power. In more serious cases, this may need referral for imaging and other treatment, but a lot of the time osteopaths are able to use their detailed knowledge of the bodies anatomy to find out and treat the tissues causing a problem.
The hips sometimes lie!
The hips and knees are connected by muscles and fascia and can have a massive effect on each other. If one is not performing as it should, the other will take up the slack and then become tired or strained. A good example of this is a condition known as runners knee. This is caused when two muscles called the gluteaus maximus and the tensor fasiae latae (or TFL for short) become tight and pull on a band of tissue running down the side of your thigh that connects to the knee. This is tissue is called the IT band or ITB and many suggest working on this tissue directly, through (quite painful) massage or foam rolling. This isn't something that I would personally recommend and treating the two muscles connected to it is usually the way I go.
So when you book in for treatment of your knee, please don't be surprised if I look at you hips, back or feet, as I will be looking for the root cause of the problem, so we can work together to get it right.
Gayle has a masters in osteopathy and treats from her clinic in Totton, just outside of Southampton. She has been a manual therapist for over 20 years and has also spent the past 18 years in education and training.
To book an assessment with Gayle visit www.align-osteopathy.co.uk or call 07891718780
or you can contact her via Facebook