Knee pain
Knee pain is sometimes referred from the lower back or hip, but more commonly correlates with problems occurring in the knee joint itself. These include:
- Knee osteoarthritis
- Muscle tightness, strain or imbalance (often including the hamstrings, quads and calf muscles)
- Patella tendinopathy
- Bursitis
- Referred pain from lower back or hip
- Ligament sprain
Hip pain
Hip pain means different things to different people. It is a generic term, describing pain anywhere from the outer lower back and buttocks, as well as groin pain. It can arise from a whole range of conditions, many of which do not actually involve the hip joint itself. These include:
- Hip osteoarthritis
- Muscle tightness, strain or imbalance (often including the iliopsoas, gluts or piriformis muscles)
- Trochanteric bursitis
- Pelvic Girdle Pain (PGP)
- Referred pain from lower back or sacro-iliac joints
- Ligament sprain
Osteopathic Treatment
An osteopath will conduct a thorough assessment to to work out what is causing your hip or knee pain and how best to treat it. Read more about osteopathic treatment.
Most hip and knee pain can be treated effectively with osteopathy. However, sometimes an osteopath may need to refer you to your GP for further tests or scans. This could be because your symptoms suggest other causes of hip or knee pain requiring medical intervention such as:
- Fractures
- Torn ligaments or meniscus
- Inflammatory conditions such as Polymyalgia Rheumatica and Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Referred pain to the hip from internal pelvic organs
- Conditions affecting children such as Perthes disease or developmental dysplasia of the hip