Don't let
KNEE PAIN
Hold You Back!

The short answer: the cause of knee pain is very individual from our experience. Our clinic assesses each person individually in order to identify the specific mechanism of knee pain. Sometimes it can be easy to identify and sometimes it can be a little more complicated.

In general, knee pain is usually caused by the following factors:

1. Muscle Weakness 

There are many muscles that act on the knee and it is the primary role of the muscles to maintain the space in the knee joint. It would be safe to say that most of the knee pain cases that we see at Activate Clinic involve an element of muscle weakness.
It’s important to note that “weakness” is relative to what kind of stress the knee joint is put through on a daily basis. Going up/down stairs, walking, running, squatting, kneeling, standing are all movements that require strength and endurance of the muscle.
For example, you may be very strong but if your job requires you to walk 10km’s per day, or stand on your feet all day, your muscles need to be strong enough to handle that stress.
We excel at diagnosing and prioritising your specific muscle weaknesses and helping you develop a plan & strategy to strengthen those muscles, and reducing the amount of friction your knees have to go through.

2. Muscle Tightness

Muscle weakness usually leads to muscle tightness. Tight muscles are another major factor when we identify the cause of knee pain. Since there are 3 major groups of muscles that cross the knee joint, having tightness in the quads, hamstrings or calves can lead to less joint space and aggravate knee pain.
The solution for tight muscles is to take steps at stretching and lengthening the muscle. The challenge is that it takes many repetitive movements over many days to adequately lengthen the muscles but with proper identification and effective exercise choices, we can help you improve muscle tightness and thus reduce knee pain for good!

3. Patella (Kneecap) Maltracking

Patellofemoral issues are some of the primary contributors to knee pain. Patella maltracking refers to the kneecap moving over the rough part of the bone rather than the smooth area it’s intended to glide over. The rough, repeat friction causes damage on the back of the kneecap and can be extremely painful.
Patella maltracking can be easy to diagnose but solving the problem involves stretching specific muscles in the quadriceps and releasing fascia in the outside of the thigh.
We can usually have an immediate impact of patella issues by providing strategic exercises to be done throughout the day that will correct the issue without the need for medicine or surgery!

4. Incorrect Movement Patterns

In many cases, knee pain occurs as an overuse injury. Overuse is especially common when movement patterns are incorrect. Some of the major culprits we see are:

• Poor squatting technique
• Incorrect walking technique
• Compensation due to other injuries
• Poor balance

In our experience, there have been cases where just merely correcting how a person walks, knee pain can be drastically reduced by restoring the correct dynamics to the movement.