OK... you are saying... "he is a Podiatrist. What does he know about knees?" Remember the old nursery rhyme "the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone, connected to the "knee" bone..." Well it is true. Our muscle and skeletal system was designed to work in a certain biomechanical alignment.
Studies have indicated that a source of some knee problems stem from these poor biomechanics of the foot especially during walking. Some people whose feet have a tendency to roll the foot outward (pronating or flat foot) while walking or running can develop knee pain that doesn't necessarily reflect knee damage. By going to a Podiatrist they can evaluate the biomechanics of your feet while walking (the gait phase), check the type of shoes you are wearing, and look at the way your shoes wear pattern. Orthotics and physical therapy can compensate for these biomechanical abnormalities and the discomfort can go away.
Losing just 15 pounds of weight can decrease the load forces on your knees and feet sometimes cutting the pain by 50%. Staying active can build atrophied muscles around the knee and can absorb more stresses. However, one should avoid those exercises that can put more stress on your knee like squats and jogging.
Ice is a natural pain killer. Applying ice to a swollen and painful joint can help reduce inflammation. Ice should be used for the first 3 days of the onset of discomfort. After that contrast therapy can be initiated which uses a combination of ice and heat at determined intervals as recommended by your orthopeadic physician, physical therapist, trainer or podiatrist.
Antiinflammatories like Ibuprofen can be used on a temporary basis and OA (osteoarthritis) suffers can use supplements such as glucosamine, chondroitin, collagen and MSM.
"The journey of life is taken one step at a time... none of them should be painful." G.M. Barclay, DPM, AACFAS
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