If you’re suffering from knee pain, you’ve probably done your fair share of visiting physicians, researching online, or even sharing your story with other people who have had a similar problem. While expanding your knowledge about your condition is great, it can also come with a lot of misconceptions. So how do you separate the truth from all of the excess information you’ve gathered? Well, for starters, you’re in the right place! Below you will find the most common misconceptions about knee pain.
All knee pain originates in the knee: Knee pain can arise from other areas of the body, such as the low back, hips, and more. The lower back can spread pain through the lower limbs, often affecting areas like the knee, foot or even the calf. So, even though you might be having knee pain, the root cause could be coming from another body part and your knee is just over compensating for it. Interestingly enough, injuries to the knee itself do not cause other body parts to ache. If you are having knee pain, but your actual knee isn’t tender to touch or there is no pain with active movement, then the low back or hip may be the root cause of your knee pain.
All meniscus tears need surgery: Despite what you may have heard from your doctor, surgery is not the only solution. Most meniscus tears and injuries can be treated without surgery. Since the meniscus is made of cartilage and disc-shaped, it is much more flexible than a regular bone. Meniscus tears can be caused by trauma, accidents, sports related injuries, and degeneration. Recent research studies have proved that surgical and non-surgical meniscus treatment lead to the same results. The only situation where surgery would be required for a meniscus tear is if someone has a locked joint and the knee is unable to straighten or bend. Read more about this here.
Don’t do any exercise and rest until the pain goes away if you’re in pain: A very common misconception about any injury is that rest is the best option for recovery. However, if physical activity and exercise are performed safely and correctly can speed up your recovery and help to prevent and reduce future knee pain. Seeing a physical therapist is a great choice because they can help create a specific exercise program that is tailored to your specific situation.
Over-the-counter pain medications are the best treatment for knee pain: When you’re in serious pain, it might seem like a no brainer to pop some over the counter pain medications for quick relief. While these pain medications get rid of pain for a short time, they are only masking the symptoms. The problem is that the underlying cause is still there. Using pain medication for an extended period of time can lead to harmful side effects. Read more about pain relief beyond medication.
Surgery is the only long-term solution to knee pain: A common misconception is that in order to fully recover from knee pain, you have to have surgery. There are many solutions that are natural and just as (if not more) effective. Physical Therapy is just one of the natural solutions that is very effective in healing knee pain and getting you back to the things you love with no drugs, no surgery, and no injections.
Knee pain is just a part of growing old: A lot of people push off their knee pain as something that comes with age. The truth is, aging has no correlation with knee pain. As people start approaching middle age, they might have some lifestyle changes. For example, weight gain and sedentary life style are common factors that contribute to issues that affect bones and muscles.
