Symptoms and Treatment for Knee Osteoarthritis

What is knee osteoarthritis (OA)?

-Knee osteoarthritis is a common type of degenerative joint disease in the knee and causes changes in the cartilage and bone around the knee. This can be a natural process of aging and usually occurs in people who are at least above the age of 50 years old and is more likely to appear in woman as compared to men1.

Signs and symptoms of knee osteoarthritis

-If you are experiencing knee osteoarthritis, there usually isn’t a specific time where you injured your knee since OA is can be part of the natural aging process. Some of the symptoms that can accompany knee OA is pain with movement, swelling in the knee, weakness, a limited ability to move the knee fully, clicking or catching in your knee when moving, and morning stiffness that gets better with movement1.

What can physical therapy do for you?

-Physical therapy can create a treatment based to your specific needs. Some things that we offer to help get you back to doing the things that you love is a tailored strengthening and stretching program specific to your needs. We also offer hands-on manual therapy, taping, ultrasound, and electrical stimulation, all of which have also been proven to be helpful with some pts with this condition2. A type of manual therapy we offer here is Mulligan Mobilization with Movements, which with the hands-on help of your physical therapist allows you to perform immediate pain-free movement and has long lasting effects. This allows your knee joint to be put in an optimal position that is best for your body3,4,5,6. 

If you or someone you know is experiencing knee pain from osteoarthritis, come into Imagine Physical Therapy and let our PT’s find a treatment that works for you!

References

1. Logerstedt D, Reiman MP. Knee. In: Reiman MP. Orthopedic Clinical Examination. Human Kinetics.
2. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Guideline for the management of knee and hip osteoarthritis. 2nd edn. East Melbourne, Vic: RACGP, 2018.
3. Hanada K, Hara M, Hirakawa Y, Hoshi K, Ito K, Gamada K. Immediate effects of leg-press exercises with tibial internal rotation on individuals with medial knee osteoarthritis. Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy. 2018;23(4):e1725. doi:10.1002/pri.1725.
4. Bhagat M, Neelapala YVR, Gangavelli R. Immediate effects of Mulligan’s techniques on pain and functional mobility in individuals with knee osteoarthritis: A randomized control trial. Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy. 2020;25(1):e1812. doi:10.1002/pri.1812.
5. Altmış H, Oskay D, Elbasan B, Düzgün İ, Tuna Z. Mobilization with movement and kinesio taping in knee arthritis-evaluation and outcomes. International orthopaedics. 2018;42(12):2807-2815. doi:10.1007/s00264-018-3938-3.
6. Folk B, Thomas M. Advanced Course: Spinal and peripheral manual therapy treatment techniques. Based off of Brian R Mulligans Concepts. Pages 5-6 and 38-39.