Post by Sam Donaldson, Sports and Exercise Physiotherapist
It’s the start of a fantastic new year! Bring on 2019! Bring on the resolutions and the commitment to a better me!
Did you also make a commitment to doing more exercise? Maybe it’s to get into the gym more, maybe you’ve bought a bike, maybe you have downloaded the Couch to 5k app and have hit the ground running…
Great work if you have, we’re all for it at RHP Physiotherapy. Part of our vision is to provide real solutions and life-changing benefits to active people of all ages. Because exercise is medicine and we support that!
But have you hit a road block already? “Knee pain!” you say.
There is a myriad of reasons you might have started to get a sore knee with these new exercise ventures. Maybe you just had a good festive season, are familiar with exercise, but having just started again you are getting sore. Often it can be some morning stiffness, pain when going up or down stairs, and this may warm up with some exercise but will get sore again after some amount of that activity (note: not every one of these features are the same for everyone).
So, what could be happening?
Depending on your history of injuries around the knee, how your lifestyle has been to this point and what your age and activity history is, there are some common issues in this scenario. Each of them relates to the relative lack of consistency or gradual progression in exercise load.
If you’re in your teens, perhaps it is Patella Tendinopathy or “Osgood Schlatter” syndrome. For females under 40, it could be Patellar-Femoral Pain syndrome. In the over-45 bracket, maybe some lifestyle choices could have been better and/or you hurt your knee when you were younger, leading to Knee Osteoarthritis. Please note that age groups, gender and other features are not always as described above.
Our next blogs will be covering some more information about Knee Osteoarthritis, so stay tuned. But if this sounds like you, perhaps a quick call in with us at RHP Physiotherapy might be in order – 07 3856 5566. We will help with identifying why your knee hurts, why it has come about and what you can now be doing about it to keep on top of that New Year’s Resolution!
