You received the secret to healthy knees before you learned how to tie your shoes, and you can thank The Delta Rhythm Boys and their song Dry Bones for that. As the song goes:
Your leg bone connected to your knee bone
Your knee bone connected to your thigh bone
Your thigh bone connected to your hip bone
Your hip bone connected to your backbone
Patellar Femoral Pain Reaches Beyond the Knee
Pain near your kneecap could be Patellar Femoral Pain (PFP). As you can imagine, your patella (kneecap) plays a vital role in your knee’s functioning. Think about the backside of the patella; it’s covered with hyaline cartilage that minimizes friction while protecting the bottom part of the femur (large upper leg bone) from trauma. The patella also decreases the wear on your quadriceps muscle (muscles that straighten the knee).
You may be thinking, “that’s amazing that your kneecap is key to both your knee and thigh health.” But hold on to your seat because there’s more! Research shows that weakness in the hip musculature can be a contributing factor to PFP. How is the hip related to kneecap pain, you ask? Here’s what the experts say:
- Increased adduction (thigh moving inward) combined with…
- Medical rotation (thigh rotating inward) increases…
- Knee valgus (heel is out to the side more than the knee joint) and can cause…
- More stress at the patella.
The Patella is Your Leg’s Fulcrum
The patella is tethered between the femur and tibia, or as it’s easier to say, the kneecap is tethered between the upper leg bone and the lower leg bone. Imagine your leg as a seesaw and your knee acting as the center of balance for the seesaw– the triangular-shaped object in the middle of the seesaw that allows each side of the seesaw to go up and down. Those kneecaps of yours are much more impressive and important than they look!
Since your patella connects to your femur and your femur connects to your hip, it makes sense that your hip can contribute to pain near the patella. Likewise, since your patella connects to your tibia, it makes sense that your lower leg also can contribute to pain near the patella. It looks like that Dry Bones song knew what it was talking about!
PPT Is The Bee’s Knees
Performance Physical Therapy & Wellness (PPT) is a solution to Patellar Femoral Pain. PPT understands the patella’s power and how pain near the kneecap may start many inches or even feet away from it. By performing specific exercises that address hip rotation and that stretch hip and thigh muscles, PPT decreases and relieves clients of pain near the patella. But exercises aren’t the only form of attack on the painful condition that is Patellar Femoral Pain. PPT also utilizes taping techniques that effectively relieve suffers from their pain.
PPT doesn’t stand out from the physical therapy pack simply because of their knowledge of the human body and how that relates to pain, injury, and recovery. PPT also stands out because of their belief that educating their clients on why pain exists and how to minimize that pain is key to their clients’ long-lasting health. From sharing why pain near the patella is more prevalent for females than males to taking the time to make sure clients can continue exercises in the comfort of their home, PPT takes the time to get to know you as a person so they’re better able to help your unique body operate at it’s best.
To relieve the pain near the knee, visit PPT.