Ready to Move with Ease? PT Can Help Relieve Hip and Knee Pain
Find the Relief for your Lower Extremities that You’ve Been Looking For!
Hip and knee pain can be caused by a variety of factors, including obesity, sports injuries, aging, and repetitive motion injuries. Whatever the cause of your hip and/or knee pain, if you are experiencing it on a regular basis, it’s time to find a solution.
Hip and knee pain are some of the most common types of pain people deal with – they are some of the top pains listed on the Centers for Disease Control surveys of adults reporting joint pain.
Many people use medications such as anti-inflammatories to alleviate their pain. However, because these medications may cause side effects, it may be beneficial to look for other ways to relieve your pain. Physical therapy could be the answer you’re looking for!
Why you should choose physical therapy over medications
If your doctor has prescribed pain relievers, it is best to follow his or her instructions.
You are, however, welcome to discuss physical therapy with your doctor. If you notice that your pain level has decreased as a result of physical therapy, you can talk to your doctor about reducing your pain reliever usage.
What can physical therapy do for pain relief?
Hip and knee pain can be difficult to live with. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, knee pain is a common condition resulting in 19.4 million pain-related visits to a physician’s office each year! If you are living with hip or knee pain, it can make it difficult to do even the most basic daily activities.
Your physical therapist’s primary goal is to help you heal from your injuries in the long run. In addition to your in-clinic treatments, you will receive education on exercises and stretches that you can do at home.
The various exercises and treatments they prescribe will gradually improve your condition, resulting in less pain on a daily basis. As your body strengthens and becomes more mobile, you will likely experience less pain in your hips and knees.
So, what will I gain from physical therapy treatments?
If your doctor has told you to take pain relievers every day for your hip and/or knee pain, you should follow your doctor’s recommendations. However, it also cannot hurt to ask about alternatives like physical therapy.
Working with a physical therapist can help reduce or eliminate your pain in a variety of ways, including:
- Ultrasound therapy.Ultrasound is used by physical therapists to apply heat deeper in your soft tissues to provide pain relief. The heat can improve circulation and aid in healing, which can ultimately reduce the pain you experience day to day.
- Ice and heat therapy.Heat can be used to improve your mobility and decrease the amount of pain you are experiencing so that you can move more freely. Ice can also be used to lessen pain from your hip and/or knee as well as to reduce inflammation.
- Exercises to improve mobility and flexibility. Often hip and knee pain can lead to loss of mobility and flexibility – which then increases the wear on your joints and leads to even more pain. Physical therapists can take you through exercises to improve your mobility and flexibility so that you can move your limbs and joints in the fullest range of motion that is available based on your body and circumstances.
- Exercises to build strength. Loss of muscular strength can contribute significantly to hip and knee pain because the weaker your muscles get, the more stress is put on your joints. Physical therapy centers around specific exercises designed to target various muscles and strengthen them so that they better support your joints.
- Treating your pain at its source. There may be one or several reasons why you are experiencing hip and knee pain. A physical therapist can examine your movement to help identify things that are contributing to your pain, such as poor posture, unhealthy walking patterns or unhealthy movement patterns at work. Once they identify these kinds of issues, physical therapists can tell you how to correct them.
Consult with a physical therapist today!
Please contact SMaRT Physical Therapy as soon as possible to make an appointment with a physical therapist for your hip and knee pain. We are ready to assist you!