Most people don’t stop to count how many times they bend their knees every day, but conservatively, this number is in the thousands of times every day. Feeling tightness and pain when you are bending your knee or knees can make every one of these movements a chore.
Turning to a physical therapist is one way you can address tightness and pain in your knee when bending it. Why? One reason is because physical therapists can help you determine the cause of your knee pain. Another is that they offer many treatment options that can assist many of the 40 million people who suffer from knee pain.
How can physical therapists address the tightness and pain you feel when bending your knee?
The treatment plans that physical therapists create are customized to fit each patient. The reason? There are many issues that can cause the tightness and pain you’re feeling when bending your knee to go up stairs or sit in a chair. Additionally, different people can experience the same knee problem differently.
After a thorough evaluation, your physical therapist can lay out a plan that’s designed to meet your specific needs. Such a plan may include treatment techniques like:
- Active Release Techniques® (ART) — This type of physical therapy combines the hands-on movements of manual therapy with the active movements of therapeutic exercises. First, your physical therapist will apply pressure to the affected area with their hands. Then, they will ask you to do one of over 500 ART movements intended to help stretch and break up any scar tissue in the area.
- Graston Technique® — Tightness and pain when bending a knee can be linked to tight muscles or scar tissue around the knee. The Graston Technique uses specially designed tools to apply pressure and tension to tight or scarred soft tissue, which can help reduce tightness and pain. Often, this technique is used when more pressure and tension are necessary than can be applied by stretches or manual therapy methods.
Find help treating your tight, painful knee at SOL PT
Struggling with a knee that is tight and painful when bent? Our team at SOL Physical Therapy is primed to help you address the root cause of your knee problem. We can start by doing a comprehensive evaluation of your knee to pinpoint the source of your symptoms. Then, our physical therapists can build you a personalized treatment plan designed to:
- Reduce pain.
- Improve knee range of motion.
- Increase your ability to do normal daily activities.
- Cut your risk of future knee problems.
Contact our team today for more information about how we can address knee issues or to schedule an initial appointment to start treating yours.
