- The first issue a physiotherapist will address with the knee is stability of the joint. If the injury was acute and required surgery, keeping weight off of it until a certain amount of healing occurs is important to prevent re-injury. When you can put weight on the knee, it is important to tape it or use a brace while walking and exercising. A brace may be used even at rest to help the joint heal properly.
- Physiotherapists use massage and passive mobilization to keep the muscles, tendons and ligaments loose. Passive mobilization uses the areas where the ligaments and tendons attach and applies pressure to these areas to move the leg without you using any muscle strain or other work. This keeps the knee from locking into place and helps maintain a range of motion even when you are limited with how far you can personally move it. This can be done while the knee is still unable to bear any weight.
- In physiotherapy, you will probably be attached to one or more of the following machines: ultrasound, electrical stimulation, biofeedback or laser therapy. Ultrasounds are used to get deep into the tissue to help break up scar tissue, improve circulation and blood flow. Electrical stimulation also increases blood flow and forces the muscle to contract helping to prevent atrophy. Biofeedback helps you learn to understand how your body is reacting to movement while laser therapy helps heal damaged tissues. Just like massage, the use of these machines can help reduce pain and swelling and improve the healing process even before you are able to walk on the knee without a crutch.
- While the other modalities can be done without requiring you to put weight on your knee, you will at some time start a stretching and strengthening routine. Flexibility in the muscles above and below the knee reduces stress on the knee and gives it a better range of motion. Exercises such as squats and lunges help to strengthen these same muscle groups to offer the knee its natural line of stability. All weight exercises should start very light and work up slowly to prevent re-injury. Through all of your physiotherapy, be sure to ice the knee after any treatment to help reduce any swelling.
