MCL & Knee Pain Treatment and Therapy

Knee pain or a knee injury are a career-enders for many amateur and professional athletes. But beyond those who depend upon this joint to make a future or current living in sport, it can hurt the quality of life for weekend warriors and everyday Joes and Janes alike. Derrick Rose will find other ways to occupy his time with millions in his bank – you may not. Thankfully, there are treatments and therapies that can reduce or effectively eliminate knee and knee joint pain and restore function so that you can go back to doing what you love in the long term.

Treatments Available at Our Red Deer and Olds AB Clinic

• Physiotherapy
• Athletic Therapy
• Custom Orthotics
• Massage Therapy
• Acupuncture & Dry Needling
• Laser Therapy
• Shockwave Therapy

Common Forms of Knee Pain

Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) Injury

This one gets all the press, not just on TSN and SportsNet, but across the desks of WCB Alberta auditors. While common to those participating in contact sports with high impact such as football, hockey, rugby, and martial arts, it is a familiar epidemic among basketball players and other sports requiring quick turns and pivots (soccer, surfing, wakeboarding, etc.).

However, MCL injuries are also unfortunately common in daily life as labourers and others may fall on and/or twist their knee joint during normal activity.

Symptoms vary upon the grade of the injury.

A grade 1 symptom is mild tenderness on the inside of the knee over the ligament.

A grade 2 symptom is characterized by very notable tenderness on the inside of the knee along the medial ligament, along with some swelling over the ligament.

A grade 3 (complete tear of the ligament) symptom is a unique one. Unlike many other grade 3 tears, the pain may not be as intense as the grade 2, however sufferers will experience significant instability. Because of this, diagnosis (and thus treatment) can be challenging without a truly experienced physiotherapy team.

Given that our clinic is founded in athletic therapy and sports medicine, we have extensive experience in diagnosing and rehabilitating MCL injuries for long term success.

Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Injury

This common knee ailment involves the tearing of one of four ligaments that connect your shinbone to your thighbone. This affiliation is common to athletes (amateur, professional, and casual) who participate in basketball, soccer, football and other sports that necessitate abrupt changes in direction.

Torn Meniscus

This ailment is quite common because it can be caused by practically any innocuous activity that requires you to twist or rotate your knee, especially when your full body weight is placed on it. That means it can happen on the field or in the living room on moving day.

What exactly is a torn meniscus?

Each knee has two menisci (rubbery fibrocartilage strips in the knee). They serve as a buffer between your shinbone and your thighbone. When torn, you will experience significant pain, swelling and stiffness around the knee in addition to a loss of knee motion and extension.

Other Forms of Knee Pain and Knee Problems

While the key culprits are addressed above, there are other ailments (systemic included) and medical conditions connected to knee pain that you may be experiencing.

These include:

• Arthritis (including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, pseudogout, and septic arthritis)
• Bursitis
• Fracture
• Iliotibial band syndrome
• Patellar tendinitis
• Patellofemoral pain syndrome