Knee pain can affect up to 25% of the adult population, with an increase in 65% over the past twenty years. It’s a big deal. However, with an accurate diagnosis, knee pain can be permanently improved, improving patients’ quality of life, freedom, and range of motion.

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Knee pain can present itself in a couple of different ways. You may have an ache or sharp pain that happens on the front of your knee. You may have pain that happens on either side of the knee. You may have pain that happens in the back of the knee.

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Front of the knee pain means your patellar tendon has degenerated. This can be mistakenly diagnosed as patellar tendinitis. Pain on either side of the knee means that your joint capsule has developed adhesion. Lateral knee pain can be misdiagnosed as IT Band syndrome or runner’s knee. Pain in the back of the knee means that your meniscus has degenerated or you may even have a meniscus tear. It must be noted that boney changes to the knee are quite common, especially for older individuals or those that have had trauma to their knee. Arthritis to the knee can present itself in any of the aforementioned symptom locations.

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As with most conditions, knee pain is a result of overload. This overload is typically caused by increased body weight or too much activity. Knee pain can also result from traumatic injury. If your knee pain was a result of traumatic injury, it’s best practice to seek medical help right away. Often, your overload can be caused by a sequelae from a surgical procedure. Any time there is a surgical procedure on a body part, scar tissue will develop. Scar tissue will limit function and make you more likely to experience overload.

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If you have pain in the back of your knee that’s made worse by either straightening it out or bending it at end range, please seek immediate medical help as you need to rule out a meniscal tear or meniscal degeneration.

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If your pain is in the front or on the sides, try out this exercise and this exercise for 4-6 weeks to see if it improves. Use this test as well to determine if you lack flexibility in your knee joint. If either of those exercises makes your pain worse, please seek medical help. If your condition does not improve in 4-6 weeks, please seek medical help.

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At Wildcard, we can provide you with an accurate diagnosis so you’re not left wondering what the root cause of your issue is. With shockwave therapy, we can remove adhesion in the joint capsule, regenerate the patellar tendon, and regenerate the meniscus. We can then improve function by increasing strength with particular rehabilitation exercises. Patients can expect permanent improvement in 3-5 visits. 

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If you are in the NYC area, please visit our website to reach out and see if you’re a good candidate for care.

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