Chen Podiatry
Person with knee pain

Knee Pain

Details & Treatment

What is knee pain?

Every time we stand, walk or run, we need our feet and knees to work in perfect alignment. Foot deformities like flat feet will disrupt this delicate alignment and cause possible knee pain. Some people might even notice that their knees or their child's knees are not straight, but always bent inwards while walking or standing up. This deformity will cause the tendons around the knee to work extremely hard to order to simply stabilize the knee while walking or running. With time, these tendons will get injured or cause pain while growing up.

What causes knee pain?

Since our knees and feet need to work in perfect alignment, any deformity of the feet will cause knee pain, as both structures are connected through a chain of reactions. Knee pain is quite common among runners, since it is usually caused by an overuse of the structure. Potential reasons for knee pain can be flat feet, ankle sprain, injury, weight gain, improper shoes, muscle weakness, improper walking or running gait, etc.

How to treat knee pain?

First of all, it is important to determine what has caused your knee pain. It is only by determining if it is related to something happening with your feet, ankle or hips, that you will be able to have the best treatment possible.

1. Realigning your knee

If your knee pain is related to a foot-knee misalignment, your knee needs to be realigned with your foot in order to function properly. Your podiatrist can help with that by prescribing and making a custom-made plantar orthotic or by applying sport tapping.

2. Strengthening your knee

Weak muscles around your knees can make them more susceptible to be injured. By following a strengthening and stretching program prescribed by your podiatrist, you can not only help your knee heal but also prevent further injury.

How to treat your knee pain at home?

While waiting for your podiatric consultation, you can relieve your pain at home by following these steps:

Wear shoes with support

Wear a pair of shoes that will give you proper arch support. With proper arch support, your feet, knees and lower back will have more chance to function in alignment. This way, your feet will gain some more stability and relieve your lower back from the excessive impact force. Stay away from flexible shoes as they will make your back pain even worse. Refrain from walking barefoot.

Take some rest

It is difficult to not use our feet on a daily basis, except for physical activity that does not involve any walking or standing up. In order to spare your lower back from the excessive impact, you can opt for swimming or cycling as another form of physical activity.

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