Can you think of any part that does half the work done by your legs? Honestly, they are quite few. Your legs have to carry your body weight every time you want to move around. The knees are pivotal to performing all these functions, considering that they are the link between the lower legs and the rest of the body. They must anchor, rotate, and absorb lots of pressure as you move around. Naturally, all the tough work puts them at risk of injury and pain. Any pain and discomfort in the knee should be met with a swift response to seek medical attention at a knee rehabilitation clinic. Assessing the pain in your knee will involve any of the following:
Assessing for Swelling and Girth
One way that your knee responds to an abnormality is by swelling or girthing. Both of these symptoms point to an abnormal increase in the size of a body tissue, including those that make up the knee. Medical practitioners must assess your knee for swelling and girthing because it often indicates an injury. Furthermore, swelling can also show that you strained the various structures in your knee by putting too much pressure on them.
It is important to identify swollen kneecaps, tendons and ligaments so that the practitioner knows where he or she needs to direct your treatment.
Assessing the Range of Motion
Your knee joint has a range of motion that allows you to angle your legs appropriately when need be. It does this by relying on flexible ligaments linking the femur (thigh part) and the tibia (lower leg part). When you experience pain in your knee, it sometimes means that something is wrong with these ligaments. This affects the range of motion of the knee. Your therapist will use specialized equipment to evaluate the range of motion of the knee so that he or she can direct your therapy to specific ligaments.
Assessing Severity
The physiotherapist has to test the severity of the pain using a technique called palpation. In this case, you should expect the therapist to touch various parts of your knee as he or she observes your reaction. Palpation also helps them identify abnormalities in the structure of the knee. Moreover, palpation helps the therapist in determining the mode of treatment and recovery. For example, he or she can recommend the use of crutches based on the source of the pain in the knee.
The results of all these assessments will set you on a trail of therapies, use of medication and possible use of knee supports. Your knee, being a movable joint, will take a few days or weeks on the road to recovery.
