Move with Ease Again: Find Relief for Your Hip and Knee Pain

There are a multitude of reasons you may be experiencing aches and pains in your hip or knee. In fact, hip and knee pain are some of the most common types of pain people deal with, ranking among the top pains listed on the Centers for Disease Control’s surveys of adults reporting joint pain.

From excess weight, to sports injuries, to rising age, to repetitive motion injuries, there are many ways the hips and knees can develop uncomfortable symptoms. Regardless of the cause, if you experience hip or knee pain regularly, physical therapy can help you manage it.

Many people use pain-management drugs such as anti-inflammatories to minimize their discomfort. However, these drugs carry potential side effects, so it’s worth finding a safer, natural way to relieve your pain. Physical therapy may be the solution you’ve been looking for.

Why pain management drugs aren’t ideal

If you’ve been prescribed pain relievers by your doctor, it’s best to follow their advice. But you’re also welcome to discuss physical therapy with your doctor, or with one of our licensed physical therapists. If your pain level decreases through physical therapy, you can discuss reducing the use of your pain reliever with your doctor and focus more on natural treatment.

Physical therapy can treat persistent pain

It’s likely you’ll begin to notice pain relief while you’re participating in physical therapy, but what about when you go home? Your physical therapist’s main goal is to heal your injuries or symptoms over the long term so you can live a comfortable, pain-free life.

The exercises and treatments your physical therapist prescribes will consistently work to improve your condition so you experience less pain day to day. As your body grows stronger and more mobile during treatment, you’re likely to experience less persistent pain in your hips and knees.

How physical therapy can help you find relief

Working with a physical therapist can help reduce or eliminate your pain in a variety of ways, including:

• Ultrasound therapy. Applies heat deeper into soft tissue for pain relief. The heat can improve circulation and aid healing, which can reduce the pain you experience day to day.
• Ice and heat therapy. Heat can improve mobility and decrease pain so you can move more freely; ice can lessen hip and knee pain and reduce inflammation.
• Exercises to improve mobility and flexibility. Hip and knee pain can lead to a loss of mobility and flexibility, which then increases wear on the joint and leads to even more pain. Targeted exercises help you move your joints through the fullest range of motion available to you.
• Exercises to increase strength. Loss of muscular strength can contribute significantly to hip and knee pain, because the weaker your muscles get, the more stress is put on your joints.
• Identifying the causes of your hip and knee pain. A physical therapist can examine your movement to help identify contributing factors, such as poor posture or unhealthy walking or work movement patterns, and tell you how to correct them.

Contact Zone Physical Therapy today to schedule an appointment to help relieve your hip and knee pain. We’ll help treat your pain at its source so you can enjoy long-term relief.