Knee Pain Doctor

Treatment for Knee Pain, Injuries and Arthritis

Clinics located across Melbourne. Click here for locations

Foot & Leg Pain Clinics have been providing expert care to athletes, recreational sports people, children and seniors for knee injuries, pain and arthritis for many years. And now with the latest advances in medical science and cellular treatments we’re able to assist with knee injury, pain and arthritis better than ever before.

The knee is the largest and one of the most important joints in the human body and is very complex. It plays an essential role in movement related to carrying body weight and permits flexion and extension as well as slight medial and lateral rotation. Due to these functions the knee is subjected to highly repetitive compressive, shearing, rotational and bending forces all day, every day when weight-bearing. This makes the joint vulnerable to pain via acute knee injury and / or chronic developments and degeneration, such as osteoarthritis.

As experts in assisting foot and leg concerns, Foot & Leg Pain Clinics understand knee function and how other parts of the body affect it. Fundamentally, knee pain is about function, which is directly related to foot and ankle function. Only when the function is improved can doctors assist pain and only when foot and ankle function is addressed can knee function be significantly improved. Whilst foot and ankle function is not always the cause of knee pain and injury, addressing foot and ankle function can significantly improve pain through changing weight bearing forces that impact the joint, and so will act as preventative care for the future. This is why long term solutions for knee pain and concerns are often hard to come by, as the whole body is often not assessed or addressed.

Our knee pain doctors have assisted thousands of people in Melbourne and across Australia with knee pain, arthritis and knee injury treatments. By keeping up-to-date with the very latest medically research and treatments, we’ve been able to help ease pain, increase mobility repair and regenerate joints and soft tissue and assist many to avoid surgery and medications. Utilising Prolotherapy and other natural injection therapies helpful in assisting tissue proliferation and healing in conjunction with other treatment options to reduce the stresses and forces placed through the knee with movement, improve individual biomechanics and musculoskeletal function, and strengthen and condition surrounding and supporting structures and tissues, we’re able to effectively assist knee pain, injury or degenerative concerns, like arthritis, better than ever before.

If you’ve been searching for a knee pain doctor in Melbourne, call for an appointment with one of our experienced sports & musculoskeletal podiatrists today.

Causes of knee pain and injury

The knee is a complex joint with many components, making it vulnerable to a variety of injuries. The most common conditions are associated with heavy stress to the joint and tissues either by load, repetition or sudden directional changes. Any kind of work or exercise during which the knees undergo heavy stress may be detrimental to the structures of the knee, and soft tissues. This is often the case in professions where people frequently have to walk, lift, squat or climb. Other contributing factors can include being overweight, poor nutrition, systemic illness, consistently being on hard surfaces and previous injury.  

Muscle weakness is often suggested to be a contributing factor to knee pain & injury, but it’s important to ask why the muscles are weak in the first place. Exercises to assist muscle function and strength can help, however it’s also important for doctors to ascertain if the muscles are able to fulfil their role in controlling the forces required to move the joint effectively. Important structures below the knee, which have a major effect on knee function must also be assessed.

A well prescribed and designed foot orthotic is crucial in managing the weight bearing forced through the joint, so can be an integral part of your treatment plan and provide great relief for knee pain and osteoarthritis.

Common causes of knee pain & injury

Cartilage lesions cartil1

The ends of the femur and tibia, and the back of the patella are covered with articular cartilage. A slippery substance it helps the bones glide smoothly across each other as you bend or straighten your leg, providing some cushioning. Cartilage lesions, which are tears in the cartilage, are common injuries and can compromise the normal smooth movement and cause pain.

Cartilage lesions can be caused by:

  • Fractures
  • Excessive strain to the joint
  • Medial knee injuries
  • The removal of a meniscus
  • Posterior cruciate ligament injury
  • Anterior cruciate ligament injury
  • Posterolateral corner injury
  • Injuries and accidents

Sufferers often experience:

  • A painful locked, blocked or swollen knee
  • A feeling of their knee about to give way

Treatment for this concern is essential. Musculoskeletal podiatrists are often known as foot, leg and knee doctors because they have expertise in these areas.

Ligament injuries

Bones are connected to other bones by ligaments. The four main ligaments in your knee act like strong ropes that hold the bones together and keep it stable. There are two different types of ligaments in the knee:

    collateral
  • Collateral Ligaments

The medial collateral ligament is on the inside of your knee, and the lateral collateral ligament is on the outside. They control sideways motion and brace the structure against unusual movement.

  • Cruciate Ligaments

These are found inside the joint. The anterior cruciate ligament in front and the posterior cruciate ligament at the back. The cruciate ligaments control the back and forth motion of your knee.

image1      image2

Ligament injury types and causes:

  • Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL injuries) are common in athletes and sports people particularly in activities like soccer, football and basketball where there is a high demand to change direction suddenly or land from jumps.
  • Posterior cruciate ligaments are often injured from a blow to the front of the knee while it is bent. This often occurs in sports-related contact.
  • Collateral Ligament Injuries are usually caused by a force that pushes the knee They are usually caused by a direct blow to the inside or the outside of the knee. Blows to the inside push the knee outwards and may injure the lateral collateral ligament, blows to the outside may push the knee inwards and injure the medial collateral ligament. It’s more common to tear the medial ligament.

Sufferers often experience:

  • Pain at the sides
  • Swelling over the site of the injury
  • Instability
  • The feeling that your knee is giving way.

Treatment for this condition is essential. If you’re looking for doctors for knee problems our clinics musculoskeletal podiatrists at can help.

Tendon injuries.

Tendons connect the muscles to the bones. The tendons in the knee work with the muscles in the front of your thigh - the quadriceps - to straighten your leg. The quadriceps tendon connects the muscles in the front of your thigh to your patella (knee cap) and the patellar tendon connects the patella to your shinbone. These tendons can be injured, stretched or torn. Although anyone can injure these tendons, tears are more common amongst middle-aged people who play running or jumping sports.

Patellar tendinopathy (or as it is commonly known patellar tendonitis or tendinitis) is an overuse injury affecting the knee. It is the result of the patella tendon being overstressed.knee

A common name for this is Jumper's Knee.

Tendon tears can be caused by:

  • Falls
  • Landing awkwardly from a jump
  • Tendon weakness
  • Tendon inflammation
  • Patella tendonitis
  • Chronic disease such as diabetes, renel failure, Lupus, metabolic disease, Gout, Leukemia etc
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Infection
  • Previous surgery around the area

Sufferers often experience:

  • Knee pain, swelling and bruising
  • An indentation at the bottom of your patella where the patellar tendon tore
  • Tenderness
  • Cramping
  • The patella moving up into the thigh (if it is no longer anchored to the shinbone)
  • Sagging or drooping patella (if tendon is torn)
  • Inability to straighten the knee
  • Difficulty walking due to knee buckling or giving way

Treatment for this condition is essential, preferably by a musculoskeletal doctor with knee pain expertise.

* It is very important to avoid Cortisone injections to treat tendon injuries, as with many other injuries cortisone can contribute to muscle weakness and further tissue damage. In cases of patella tendonitis cortisone has been linked to increased tendon weakness and tendon rupture.meniscus

Meniscus injuries

When people talk about torn cartilage in the knee, they’re usually referring to a torn meniscus.

The menisci are two pieces of wedge-shaped meniscal cartilage in the knee, which act as shock absorbers and separate the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone). The inner is the medial and the outer is the lateral. Different from articular cartilage, the meniscus is tough and rubbery to help cushion and stabilize the joint.

Meniscus tears can be caused by:

  • Twisting, cutting, pivoting, or being tackled during sport
  • Ageing / degeneration of tissues
  • Arthritis

Suffers often experience:

  • Pain
  • Stiffness and swelling
  • Catching or locking of the joint
  • The feeling of the knee giving way
  • A limited range of motion

Treatment for this condition is essential.

*Without treatment, a piece of meniscus may come loose and drift into the joint, which can cause the knee to slip, pop, or lock.

Seeing a doctor for knee pain in Melbourne

Because the knee joint is very complex it’s important your get appropriate and effective treatment to ensure you can heal as well as possible, as quickly as possible.

If you’re looking for a doctor for your knee problems, Foot and Leg Pain Clinics doctors have the expertise required for assisting concerns of the lower limb. We are experts in biomechanics and musculoskeletal medicine, keep up-to-date with the very latest medical research and treatments and take a holistic approach, which is an integral part to any treatment plan. Whether you’re looking for doctors for knee pain, to provide injury treatment or a doctor who can assist with knee arthritis, our specialists can offer the most appropriate and effective treatment. We can also assess your foot and ankle function to assist knee pain and promote healing.

Call 1300 328 300 to feel better sooner than you think.

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