There are numerous structures that can produce knee pain, and it is our job to figure out which structure is the cause of your pain and then manage it appropriately. When we assess a patient with knee pain, we take a detailed history to understand what causes their pain, what makes it better, and what makes it worse. We then watch them move but ask them to perform a series of different motions so we can observe any biomechanical deficits. We assess the motion of the knee joint, the integrity of the surrounding ligaments, we assess the meniscus, medial patellofemoral ligament, plica, fat pad, patellar and quad tendons, and the nerves.
All of these structures can cause knee pain, but each of their complaints is different in a specific way. Identifying the structure at fault is paramount in designing a proper treatment plan. Treating a tendon-related issue in the knee is significantly different than treating irritation of the meniscus or the fat pad.
Commonly accepted truisms like “the 4 best exercises for your knee pain” are simply not true and will result in treatment failure. Failing to do so results in a treatment that will not be successful and will leave you frustrated. Once we have figured out the structure at fault, we can then design a tailored treatment plan that will address the biomechanical deficits and muscle imbalance and give you training modifications as necessary in order to get you back to what you love to do in short order.
