When you email me a question, I post my answer here to help others who may have a similar question. Here is a recent email from a reader about knee pain along with my thoughts.
Hello Doug,
I've suffered with PF pain in my right
knee for 16 years. I've had 13 operations and done thousands of hours of
the "usual" exercises (straight leg raise etc.) with minimal
results.
I've just now developed similar pain
in my "good" knee (my left) and I'm desperate to get rid of it
as I need at least one knee to function.
I read your article advocating a standing
PF exercise using a rubber band attached to a door. I just can't visualize
it properly...is there a diagram or something you could post that would
help?
In lieu of that, where on the patient
does the band attach? A 45 degree angle facing which direction? Am I to
have my right side facing the door?
Thanks for any help you can provide.
To answer your question directly, here is an article that I think will help but I need to point something out. Knee pain can stem from a variety of sources. Pain is not the problem. It's the messenger. Pain is non-discriminatory. Your knee can hurt from inflamed synovium, bone, tendon or ligaments or your knee may feel like it's the source when, in fact, some other part of your body is the real problem (hip arthritis often masquerades as knee pain, for example). You may have abnormal movements of the hip, knee, ankle or foot (or all of these areas) that lead to overload of tissue in or around the knee. Without a history and physical exam, it's difficult, if not impossible, to know why you hurt and what to do about it. So, I would be careful about just trying exercises you find on the Internet without first having a clear picture of why you hurt.
Doug Kelsey
