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Knee Pain is a Foot Problem

By Peter Wishnie

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Published: 07Jul2010
Word count: 498
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Knee Pain is a Foot Problem Up to 75% of athletes have chronic knee pain. Is your knee pain driving you crazy? There are a million different reasons why so many people suffer from knee pain. Henry (Hank) Aaron, a home run king, is one of many professionals that suffer from arthritis in the knee.

Is there anything you can do to treat or prevent these aches and pains in the knee? All arthritides are irreversible. Once you have arthritis, you will always have arthritis. The first thing to identify is what is causing the arthritis. Weight is a very important factor. The heavier a person is the more stress and strain that is place on the knee.

Many people attribute activities to knee problems. Though high stress, pivoting, and jarring activities put a lot of stress on the knee, it does not always lead to arthritis.

More importantly, a person's biomechanics can cause chronic increased forces and instability that leads to damage and injuries. The knee is the most unstable joint in the body. Most other joints have boney boarders that help stabilize the joint. The knee is simply two bones separated by cartilage and ligaments and surrounded by muscles, tendons, and ligaments. These are all soft tissue structures. The knee is surrounded by two more stable joints in the body, the hip and the ankle.

However, small problems in these joints easily affect the unstable knee joint. Thus, if someone has chronic ankle or hip problems, it is not unlikely that they will also suffer from knee problems. Since soft tissues are the major stabilizers of the joint, they can be strengthened with physical therapy, strength training, stretching and range of motion exercises. A biomechanical exam can be done to assess your ankle and hip range of motion, stability and muscle tightness that causes changes in joint function.

Most people benefit from several different forms of physical therapy and other treatments gauged at correcting the mechanics of the joint, such as orthotics, custom shoe inserts made by a podiatarist. Orthotics are not just for your foot pain! You may not have any foot pain and still benefit from orthotics. Many of my patients are extremely active in sports and running. From weekend warriors to obsessive marathon runners, I have heard patients say their orthotics helped their knees, hip, back and everything in between. Biomechanics is the application of mechanical principles to the human body and is studied extensively by podiatrists. Many of the basic concepts are also applied in physical therapy and sports training are biomechanical in nature. Orthotics are devices that enhance function and compensate for biomechanical problems in the leg. Changing joint positions and alignment in the foot and ankle have a direct effect on your knee and hip. Not everyone needs orthotics, but many people benefit from them. My clinical experience has me convinced me that orthotics are necessary treatment modalities for a number of musculoskeletal disorders in the lower extremity including arthritis.

Dr. Peter Wishnie is a NJ podiatrist who specializes in foot and ankle surgery. His office is in Piscataway/Hillsborough,NJ. His goals are to educate the public on the care of their feet and ankles and to get them functioning as quickly as possible. For more foot health tips on foot pain, get a Free copy of their book, "Stop Foot Pain Fast," by visiting their website: http://www.stopfootpainfast.com

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