Soooo....how important is a GOOD knee doc?

Member

I began having lower knee pain/achey about 6 months ago. I went to a knee Doc and explained to him my probs. He MRI'd and et al. He then told me he saw nothing wrong with my knee and it was prob runner's knee and to stay off of it. He said it would heal in 2 to 10 months and itd be okay if ran 1 or 2 miles every other day. That was the extent of his advice.

So 6 months later I decided to seek another opinion (since the pain/achey was still there). The Doc I talked to is a former military (orthopaedic)doctor that used to treat infantry types at Eglin AFB. He informed me that my knee was fine, my Q angle was fine also, and that one of my tendons was having to work extra hard due to a weak quad muscle. He told me my knee was healing about as fast as I was injuring it, thats why it was making no progress. He prescribed some excercizes and said that should heal the achey/pain feeling in about month.

So Ive been doing what he suggested and it is working.

I guess the point behind this lengthy post (SORRY) is that for everyone to make sure that their Doc has some type of experience with sports related injuries or a lot of time could be wasted due to inneffective diagnosis.

Kel

Pyromaniac

Good advice. The orthopedic surgeon that did my knee surgery a few years ago specialized in sports injuries and he did a helluva fine job. The GP that looked at it put me in a brace for a few weeks and said that would heal it up.

The Pinball

i've found that the "runners knee" diagnosis is probably saying something else is out of line and you need to address it with a stretching and/or strengthening program. hip flexors, quads, tfl, ITB Mad

all this stuff can refer pain to your knee. glad you had the MRI to rule out trauma and found a doctor patient enough to work thru it with you.

PRESIDENT

Yeah, what she said. Mr. Green

Newbie

About Runner’s Knee

Runner’s knee is a common condition that results when there is wear and tear to the cushioning material (cartilage) around the kneecap (patella.) The term "chondromalcia patella" is the orthopedic diagnostic name for this condition.

The pain is usually experienced either towards the inside or towards the outside area of the knee joint. Pain may develop while running, later after running or the day after. It commonly hurts more to run downhill than uphill or while running on a banked surface. Resting may ease the pain; however, long periods of rest cause stiffness in the knee joint.

Commonly, this conditions begins in a person’s late thirties or forties and it usually affects runners that train for endurance. The onset of pain commonly occurs around three to four miles into the run.

Excessive aberrant stress to the knee joint is the main cause of runner’s knee. In a perfect knee joint during running, the patella should track straight up and down in the groove in the thigh. A stress that causes this straight up and down motion to alter and become pulled to one-side results in the wear and tear damage to the cartilage as mentioned earlier.

What is the cause of excessive aberrant stress to the kneecap when running? Actually, there are several factors that can occur independently or in conjunction with each other and involve not only the running gear and running surface but also involve the foot and leg. For instance, running on a banked surface will contribute to this condition. This is seen most often when running on streets with a lot of slope for rain drainage. Running with worn-out or poor quality shoes is also a factor. Anything that adds to the force of impact, such as running on cement, will also aggravate this condition. If any of these basic factors are present in your running activity, they should be corrected.

What if you have a good running shoe and run on a moderately firm and level surface and still experience pain? My advice would be to make an appointment with a qualified health care practitioner such as a chiropractor who has a CCSP title (Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician.) Such a health care provider is trained to examine the foot, knee, and leg to help determine where the problem is coming from and what can be done about it.

What would someone like a chiropractor check for? The first thing to look for is what is called the Q-angle. This is the angle formed between the hip, knee and angle. In general, the smaller the angle, the less likely you are to suffer from runner’s knee. People who are born “knock-kneed” would certainly be at a disadvantage; however, if you were not born that way there are these other conditions that increase the Q-angle. I will list some of the more common causes below:

Flat feet, also called fallen arches: This condition allows the knee to bend inward. Good arch supports or custom-made foot orthotics can help correct this problem when running.

Hyperpronation: This condition results when the foot rolls to the inside too quickly after impact. A gradual rolling in motion is ideal to absorb shock and keep the patella aligned. Hyperpronation (rolling in too quickly and too excessively) creates an increased q-angle and causes the patella to move more to the sides while running. Check you shoes, if you have excessive wear towards the outside edged of the heel, you are probably hyperpronating. The wearing-off of the outside edge of the heel happens from the sandpaper like action applied to the heel of the shoe. Think of it this way, the heel strike occurs slightly to the outside of the heel, then rolls inward. If it rolls inward too quickly, the outside edge gets sanded down. Again, this is a problem that can be managed by corrective foot orthotics. A company called Foot Levelers makes a special semi-rigid orthotic that is custom fitted to your foot. It is made of a special material that absorbs much of the heel strike force and also decelerates the inward rolling that is hyperpronation. This product is available though a chiropractor.

Muscle imbalance: The quadriceps muscle, the muscle that makes up the front part of the thigh, is chiefly responsible for the tracking of the patella. Sprinters generally develop strong quadriceps muscle; however, distance runners generally develop the quads less and the hamstrings more. Your chiropractor can help you to determine if such an imbalance exists and can teach you the proper exercises to correct this condition.

Running with the toes pointed outward: This increases the Q-angle by decreasing the support to the arch of the foot. Try this, stand with your toes pointed out and then with your toes pointed in. You should notice a slight change in the height of the arches as you do so. The arch height should decrease with the toes pointed out and increase when the toes are pointed in. Runners with this condition generally notice they have less pain if they try to run with their toes slightly turned in. The problem is that studies show that habits are hard to break for even the most experienced and dedicated athletes; therefore, this is not considered by many to be a dependable solution for this malady.

Short Leg Syndrome: A rather fancy name that simply means one leg is shorter than the other is. This condition is much like the problem created by running on a banked surface. Although a heel lift or a specially made shoe with a thicker sole might help, you should consult with a chiropractor or another qualified health care provider before trying this out for yourself. Changing your leg length while running could cause an adverse reaction in your back, especially if too much of a change is made too quickly.

Underlying problems with the knee joint: X-rays can help determine if there are any underlying structural problems or diseases that could be contributing to this condition. A good examination should always include a consideration for x-rays to help look for such underlying problems.

I hope this information about runner’s knee is of some help. I think it is interesting to note that in most cases, the problems that cause runner’s knee actually come from the thigh or the foot, and not the knee. This condition was once treated by knee surgery, but the more modern approach involves working to correct the problems of the thigh and foot through proper support and proper conditioning.

If you would like to find a Doctor of Chiropractic near you for help with your condition, you can click the link below and visit findachiropractor.com:

Find a Chiroprator

Member

Fortunately the spate of knee and foot problems I had 2 yewars ago seems to have gone away.

I do use a knee and foot Ortho guy for major stuff. For the longest time I had pain in the left knee. Tried the Vioxx, etc, etc finally got an MRI. Turns out if was inflamed tendons - 600mg Ibuprophen for two weeks cleared it up.

Soooo....how important is a GOOD knee doc?

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