What is Knee trauma?
Knee trauma injury describes damage inflicted to the knee structures from either direct or indirect forces. This could be an external impact to the knee, such as falling heavily onto your knees, or a referred shockwave from landing awkwardly on your feet. Knee trauma injury can vary in severity from severe bruising to bone fractures and involve all the structures of the knee including ligament, muscle and nerve tissue. As Knee trauma usually involves an obvious physical accident you are immediately aware of the injury and symptoms, such as pain.
If your knee trauma is serious or symptoms persist it is important to have the injury assessed, both to receive treatment as early as possible and to prevent further injury. Physiotherapy is an important part of rehabilitation for all types of knee trauma, whether for intensive reconditioning or simply for advice on self-management.
Above: Assessment of the knee following surgery
What causes Knee trauma?
There can be many causes of knee trauma, which will vary depending on the individual’s age, occupation, lifestyle and general physical condition. In most cases a traumatic knee injury involves the application of excessive force on the connective and supportive structures of the knee. Injury may then result from;
- Functional overloading the joint in its normal range of movement, but with a level of stress it cannot handle.
- Sudden loading of knee joint, particularly following prolonged period of rest.
- Rotational, twisting forces whilst loading the joint compromise its normal resistance to stress, reducing the joints functional strength.
- External impact, causing sudden stress to the joint tissues often it directions of weak structural resistance.
Forces sufficient to cause traumatic knee injury can occur performing normal everyday activities, however they are more frequently experienced during sports participation. Periods of intense activity, especially on sloped or uneven surfaces, significantly increase the risk of traumatic injury. Sports that involve a lot of participant contact with other players or equipment place you at higher risk, as do unsuitable footwear. Biomechanical abnormalities such as flat feet, poor posture or poor sporting technique can all contribute to the increased chance of knee trauma injury.
What are the symptoms of Knee trauma?
The symptoms that present following knee trauma will depend largely on which knee structures have been affected and the severity of the damage inflicted. General symptoms of knee trauma could include;
- Pain, with sudden onset at the time of injury that may quickly fade to an ache.
- Swelling, usually rapid and affecting the knee joint and surrounding tissues.
- Tenderness over the site of injury when pressed.
- Redness, sometimes developing into bruising discolouration depending on the severity of injury.
- Stiffness develops following swelling and prolonged periods of rest.
How is Knee trauma diagnosed?
Knee trauma can be diagnosed by a doctor or physiotherapist following an assessment. A brief subjective history will confirm the method of injury and a thorough physical examination can confirm the knee structures that have been affected. For more serious or emergency cases you would be referred to a doctor and x-rays may be taken to confirm the severity of the injury.
Above: Physiotherapy treament is advised following knee surgery.For more information about how physiotherapy can help treat knee trauma, or to book an appointment please email office@liverpoolphysio.co.uk or call 0151 558 0077 .
What would a physiotherapy assessment for Knee trauma involve?
At Liverpool Physio, we want to gain as much information as possible about your injury to ensure we give you the best treatment. In your first appointment with us, our physiotherapists will carry out an assessment which has two parts:
Subjective
A discussion between you and our physiotherapist to find out the cause of your injury and what symptoms you are experiencing, and how your injury is affecting you and your lifestyle.
Objective
An assessment of your range of pain, range of movement, and a series of special tests to identify the presence of knee trauma.
Whatever the cause of your knee trauma the thorough assessment process at Liverpool Physio allows our experienced Physiotherapists to tailor a treatment programme to target the cause and achieve the best possible recovery.
What would physiotherapy treatment for Knee trauma involve?
Physiotherapy treatment will be adjusted to address the specific nature of your knee trauma. Pain relief and maintaining mobility during the initial stages of recovery would then be followed by a rehabilitation exercise programme to restore normal functional ability. Treatments will vary depending on the structures that were damaged and your pace of recovery, but may include;
- Heat treatments, including ice therapy, to relieve pain and reduce swelling.
- Soft tissue massage to alleviate stiffness and disperse swelling
- Electrotherapy to promote soft tissue healing.
- Advice on activity modification to prevent re-injury during recovery.
- Stretching exercises to lengthen tight muscles and restore flexibility.
- Progressive strengthening exercises to regain joint stability and functional strength.
- Balance training to improve joint proprioception and dynamic stability.
- Taping to encourage posture correction and support soft tissues.
- Gait analysis and retraining to correct biomechanical abnormalities.
- Advice about any surgical procedures, how to prepare and what to expect.
If your traumatic knee injury does require surgery it is important to begin physiotherapy treatment soon after the injury to achieve the best recovery, as in some cases the surgical intervention may not occur until months after the injury. Our experienced physiotherapists can help manage the acute symptoms of knee trauma and help you prepare for surgery so you are in the best possible condition. Following surgery, your physiotherapy rehabilitation programme will be tailored to meet your lifestyle and recovery goals. It will address your symptoms of pain and facilitate a confident return to normal activities and sports participation in the quickest possible time.
How can I arrange a physiotherapy assessment for Knee trauma?
If you are experiencing Knee pain, loss of stability or mobility and show signs of inflammation, especially following an accident, you may have a Knee trauma injury and you would benefit from seeing one of our physiotherapists at Liverpool Physio.
You can contact us directly to arrange an assessment and we can advise you if further treatment is recommended, or give you details on self-management for minor cases. To arrange an appointment please email office@liverpoolphysio.co.uk or call 0151 558 0077 .
Summary
Knee trauma can be very painful and have a very limiting effect on your mobility and independence. Sometimes surgery is required to facilitate a full recovery and there can be a wait of months before it takes place. Our experienced musculoskeletal physiotherapists can manage the acute symptoms of your knee trauma, relieving pain and helping you adapt whilst recovering. We can help you prepare for knee surgery so that your post-operative recovery will be quicker and more effective. Treatment techniques will involve pain relief, mobilisation exercises, improved joint stability and functional strengthening exercises. You will also be given appropriate advice to facilitate your own recovery and prevent further injury. Throughout the treatment process our rehabilitation programme will focus on the best possible functional recovery in the quickest possible time.
For more information about how physiotherapy can help treat knee trauma, or to book yourself an appointment, please contact us via email at office@liverpoolphysio.co.uk or call 0151 558 0077 .
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