Chiropractic Care for Runner’s Knee in Coon Rapids MN
Chiropractic Care for Runner's Knee in Coon Rapids MN
Clinic Hours
Monday: 7:30am - 11:00am | 2:00pm - 6:00pm
Tuesday: Closed
Wednesday: 7:30am - 11:00am | 2:00pm - 6:00pm
Thursday: Closed
Friday: 7:30am - 11:00am
Saturday & Sunday: Closed
A popular ailment of runners is called "runner's knee". Runner's knee in Coon Rapids MN anatomically is known as patella femoral pain syndrome. This is a condition that at any given time in one's running career you may have to deal with. Symptom wise, a person may feel dull pain behind the knee cap that can progress to sharp pain, but usually involves some swelling and some inflammation. When this condition hurts the worse is when a person extends the knee and puts pressure on it. Activities where it may be felt would include running downhill, descending a stairs, or even during long bouts of sitting.
ANATOMY OF THE KNEE AND CAUSES OF RUNNER'S KNEE
In each leg you have quadriceps muscles, these are four muscles on the front of the thigh, which come together and form the patellar tendon and attach below the knee. The patellofemoral joint is where the patella (or kneecap) slides along the femur during knee movement. Inside this joint is a floating bone called the knee cap. This cap has grooves on the back of it which run in mating grooves in the femoral bone. When the quad muscles are out of balance with each other and you get an abnormal strain, whether it be on the outside of the leg or the inside of the leg, the patella gets out of its tracking and starts to rub in the grooves of the femoral bone to the patella. Over time this rubbing causes an aggravation and eventually inflammation, pain and soreness below the knee cap. This is especially common in people who take on greater challenges, such as long distance marathon running, and even short distance marathons. The over stressed tissues of the body will tend to fatigue and develop "Runner's Knee"
Female runners tend to have more bouts of runner's knee. The research world assesses this condition as a result of women having a greater q angle. This is the angle due to the widening of the hips that females have and the transfer of the linear passage from the hip joint through the ankle. The knee has a greater angle which is known as q angle. This produces greater stress on the knee joint as well as the supporting ligaments and tendons around the knee.
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TREATMENT FOR RUNNER'S KNEE IN COON RAPIDS MN
The treatment for runner's knee can vary between different professions. The medical community will often times give drugs and anti-inflammatory cortical steroid injections to reduce inflammation. Physical therapy will most often focus on strengthening muscles. The treatment from a Chiropractic perspective begins with looking at posture and how the joints are working from a biomechanical viewpoint. What this means is that we look at the balance and rhythm of the hip joints, the knee joints and the feet and how they work all in relationship to each other. We find patients that have bad arches and altered gait patterns as a result of bad feet, produce abnormal wear on knees as well as hip and low back joints. We also find patients with low back problems with dysfunctional stiff, tight joints in the sacroiliac joint, as well as the lumbar spine that create abnormal stress on the hips, knees and feet as well. In a nutshell, basically we look at a body as a functioning, moving, structure and look for areas of dysfunction that are causing abnormal stress on the various tissues. Once these have been located, then a plan of action can be implemented.
For joints that have misalignment and have lost their proper movement and function, the most productive form of treatment is Chiropractic adjustments in Coon Rapids MN. This is where we study and analyze the dynamics of the joint and determine in which ranges of motion the joint has lost it's proper motion. These joints can be in the low back, hips, knees, or even the ankles and feet. Based upon this analysis, specific calculated lines of drive will be incorporated to bring function and proper movement back into the ranges that have lost mobility. When this is successfully accomplished the runner often times notice an immediate noticeable increase in range of motion and reduction in pain pattern. Frequently this treatment will need to be done on a repetitive basis until you retrain the proper mobility back into the structures with lost function. Once the body starts to work in alignment it often times recovers very quickly thereafter.
HOME THERAPIES
There are also home therapies that are recommended. They may consist of a foam roller which you roll on the quadriceps and hamstring muscles as well as the lower gastroc (calf) muscles. Deep muscle massage is also helpful to stimulate relaxation and increase blood flow to the muscles and promote healing. Ice is also frequently very effective in reducing inflammation (15 minutes every 2 hours) but is only a Band-Aid effect.
Many people will implement these conservative home therapy measures first, but if a person does not achieve the level of recovery that they are looking for then the next step is to see a Chiropractor who specializes in runner injuries and can restore the biomechanics to dysfunctional gait problems. At Caring Chiropractic Center we have been treating individuals for over 30 years, Dr Ruf has training in evaluating biomechanics, as well as gait analysis and specializing in extremity adjusting (adjusting the feet, ankles, wrists, and elbows). We have been treating runners for a long time that have enjoyed the success as a result of conservative Chiropractic treatment that brings function back into the patterns of dysfunction that are creating abnormal stress in the joints, muscles and ligaments.
Contact us Today at Caring Chiropractor in Coon Rapids, MN
If you have been struggling with these reoccurring, nagging injuries you owe it to yourself to call Caring Chiropractic today and get an assessment. This could change your performance and open up new doors of opportunity of success in your running career.