Knee osteoarthritis

What is knee arthritis?

Knee arthritis affects the cartilage that lines the bone surfaces of the joint. The cartilage breaks down and wears away causing inflammation and pain which usually felt on the inside of your knee.

What causes knee arthritis?

• Being overweight
• Age
• Previous joint injury
• Muscle weakness
• Stresses on the joints from certain jobs and playing sports
• Poor biomechanics
• Malformed joints or a genetic defect in your joint cartilage.

Signs and symptoms 

• Knee Pain often with a gradual onset and progression often worse first thing in the morning or after periods of inactivity 
• Knee Pain often aggravated with weight bearing activities such as walking, going up or down stairs, kneeling and squatting
• Knee stiffness
• Knee swelling
• Warmth around the knee
• Clicking or grating 
• Decreased strength of the lower limb muscles.

Treatment

• Reduce your knee pain and inflammation
• Normalise your knee joint range of motion
• Strengthen your knee and lower limb: Quads, hamstrings, calves, hip and pelvis muscles
• Improve your patellofemoral (knee cap) alignment and function
• Release tight muscles
• Improve your technique and function eg walking, squatting
• Surgery may be required.