Knee Pain
Knee pain, swelling or a knee that gives way usually comes from runner’s knee, a meniscus tear, a ligament sprain such as an ACL tear, tendinitis or arthritis. Many knee injuries can be rehabbed without surgery, and when surgery is needed, therapy before and after matters. Our Doctors of Physical Therapy treat knee pain in Franklin, Brentwood and Nashville, Tennessee.
What is going on inside your sore knee
Runner’s knee
Patellofemoral pain syndrome is an ache around or behind the kneecap. It often follows a jump in running, hills or stairs, and weak hips and thighs are common contributors.
Meniscus tear
A meniscus tear brings pain along the joint line, swelling, catching and trouble twisting or squatting. Not every meniscus tear needs surgery.
ACL tear and other ligament sprains
An ACL tear usually follows a pivot or a landing, with a pop, swelling and a knee that feels unstable. Other ligament sprains vary from mild to severe.
Patellar tendinitis and IT band syndrome
Patellar tendinitis, or jumper’s knee, hurts just below the kneecap with jumping and running. IT band syndrome causes pain on the outside of the knee and often shows up in runners.
Knee arthritis
Knee arthritis brings stiffness, aching and swelling. Strength and movement training are part of care for knee arthritis.
When your knee pain shows up
The activity that hurts tells us a lot about which structure is overloaded.
- Knee pain going up stairs
- Knee pain when squatting
- Pain after running
- Pain when you jump or land
- Pain on the outside of the knee
- Swelling after activity
- A knee that gives way
How we rehab a knee: strength, movement and the load that sets it off
We assess how the knee, hip, ankle and trunk work together, since the knee often hurts because something above or below it is not doing its share. Treatment is built on therapeutic exercise and progressive strength loading, with manual therapy to ease stiff or sore tissue and neuromuscular training so the knee moves and lands well.
Dry needling can release tight muscle around the thigh and knee, and Class IV laser may help ease discomfort during rehab. For runners, a running assessment with gait analysis and video review shows how your mechanics affect the knee. If you lift, the Return-to-Training Roadmap gives a graded path back to your training.
Before and after knee surgery, and getting back to sport
Some knees do need an operation. Either way, the work around it matters.
ACL reconstruction and knee replacement
Rehab before and after the operation makes a real difference to how strong the knee is. The details are on post-surgical rehab.
Return to sport
Testing whether you are ready for cutting, jumping and running again is on sports injury rehab.
Knee pain that starts elsewhere
Knee pain can start in the hip, see hip pain, or in the foot and ankle, see foot and ankle pain. Pain from worn joints is covered on the Arthritis & Joint Pain page.
More on knees and running from the Elevate615 blog
Knee pain care in Franklin, Brentwood and Nashville
Elevate615 treats knee pain at our Franklin clinic in Cool Springs, and we also see patients at our Brentwood and Nashville clinics.
You do not need a physician referral to start physical therapy at Elevate615: Tennessee allows direct access. If longer care later needs a physician involved, we coordinate with them.
Meet the people who treat you on our team page.