BY DR. ARNAN SISSON

NOVEMBER 11, 2023

I know in the past I’ve written about painful achy knees. And how important range of motion or gradual movement is to avoid that addictive oxycodone, painful steroid injections, the surgeon’s scalpel, and even just being glued to the couch and missing out on what life really has to offer.

How you go about introducing and dosing that movement is covered in past articles, and I cover it extensively in my blog. So, if you haven’t yet taken a look at that I definitely encourage you to check out the weekly blog at montrossphysicaltherapy.com. It has loads of videos and write-ups on how to do just that.

Today though is about the other half of the puzzle. When trying to fix a painful knee you do have to increase your movement. But that is easier said than done!

Very often folks try to begin general exercise, stretching, and even massage work. But it ends up making their knee troubles 2-3x’s worse!

There are many strategies and soft tissue techniques I use in the practice to help folks avoid this. It would be impossible to list all of these in one article, so instead, I’m going to narrow down today's piece to focus on one important strategy to use for an achy knee. It will allow you to increase your activity while at the same time reducing potential flare-ups.

Theirs a phrase I tell my personal clients with knee pain and it goes like this, “Good legs go to heaven and bad legs go…. you know where!” The phrase teaches folks how to climb stairs and go over curbs while trying to fix knee pain.

It basically means when going up a step or curb you want to first place the non-painful side on the step, and when going down you place the painful leg down first. This positioning aligns the lower back, hip, and most importantly the knee in the proper weight-bearing position to avoid overstressing the knee. It's very important for easing large amounts of knee pain with activity.

So, try that next time going up a step or heck even give the phrase to a friend that truly needs it. And remember movement is medicine!

P.S. Want me to look at that achy knee of yours, figure out the primary cause of it, and lay out a plan to take care of it? If this sounds interesting to you then shoot us a call at the practice (804) 493-0002 to set up a 20-minute discovery session with myself. The best part about all of this… it's 100% free!

Pain originating from the knee is a problem we specialize in, and we help folks every day get back to not fearing stairs, walking through Walmart, squatting down low to play with grandkids, and even better yet avoiding knee replacements! And due to recent demand, we are only taking in 1-2 clients with this sort of issue a week. So, call as soon as possible to get your slot!