Category: Knee Pain

What a funny name for an injury! But what is it? 

This injury is commonly seen in patients who work or spend most their time on their knees. For instance, floorers, carpenters and in more historic times house maids who scrubbed floors thus the name, “House Maid’s Knee”. 

So, what is it?

House maid’s knee occurs when the bursa or fluid-like sac, that sits on top of your kneecap becomes inflamed from repetitive kneeling. Normally the bursa decreases the friction between the skin and kneecap but sometimes it can become inflamed and irritated when there is too much weight-bearing and loading on the kneecap. This can cause swelling, heat and inflammation leading to restricted movement and increased pain at the front of the knee.  

Thankfully, house maid’s knee can be easily treated by a physiotherapist. A course of anti-inflammatories can be taken to help reduce inflammation along with applying ice to the knee to decrease swelling. After this, stretches will be prescribed to reduce friction around the knee along with strengthening exercises to help support joint during movement. 

If are having knee issues or have any concerns, contact Capital Physiotherapy at info@capitalphysiotherapy.com.au and we can have you back to work in know time!

ITB Syndrome (Iliotibial friction syndrome) is one of the most common causes of “Runner’s Knee”. Being an overuse injury, it is caused by repeated trauma rather than a specific incident.
It arises at its proximal end from the tendons of the tensor fasciae latae and gluteus maximus muscles. From its origin, the Iliotibial tract travels along the lateral side of the thigh and across the knee joint, inserting on the lateral epicondyle of the tibia.

Sign and Symptom:

• Pain with activities that require repetitive activities involving knee flexion-extension
• Burning pain at the outer aspect of the knee.
• The pain tends to be worse when running or coming down stairs.
• There may be an audible snapping sensation the knee bends due to the band flicks over the bony tubercle.
• There may also be some swelling on the outer side of the knee.
• Pain is also exacerbated when running a long distance.
• The onset occurred most frequently at the lateral knee after 2-3 km of running, or hiking over 16km.

At Capital Physiotherapy, all our physiotherapist is able to assess your running and come up with strategies to help you during your run. At capital physiotherapy, we have clinicians who have ample experience returning athletes back to sport. If you’ve got lingering pain that is sticking around longer than expected, book in with one of our friendly physiotherapists and get some recommendations on what to do. We are conveniently located at South Yarra, Footscray and Hawthorn (Formerly at Balwyn) so choose a clinic most convenient for you. You may drop an email at info@capitalphysiotherapy.com.au or do an online booking here.

Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome usually occurs in children and would normally affects both knees. This can be classified as ‘growing pains’. The pain is usually located at the tibia tuberosity (the bump in the tibia) and can be very sensitive to touch. These tend to occur when the child is undergoing a growth spurt, as well as an intense period of exercise; specifically: soccer, basketball and ballet. Traditionally speaking, there are more boys being affected by this syndrome; however the gender gap is narrowing as more girls participates in sports.

Ongoing activity, without appropriate management by a physio, may result in an avulsion fracture, whereby a piece of bone is torn away from the main bone. In this case, a splint may be ordered to allow the fracture to union.

Osgood-Schlatter is normally treated conservatively when caught quite early. Physiotherapy is usually recommended to help guide rehabilitation. Treatment would involve reducing tight muscles in the quadriceps, hamstrings and gastrocnemius muscles; as well as some strengthening exercises. Taping may also help.

Physiotherapists can also liaise with your child’s coaches so that they can continue to train, but minimizing any activities that may aggravate the syndrome. This is important as stopping their training will stunt their skills growth. Stopping training will also result in muscle atrophy and tightness developing as you ‘wait’ until the pain goes away. This may then create a domino effect and result in other issues in the near future.

Our physiotherapists at Capital Physiotherapy are well experienced dealing with Osgood-Schlatter Syndrome. Not only are they qualified to assess the functioning of your child’s knee joint; but they also have experience working with different sports clubs. This means they are well placed to not just treat your child, but communicate with other stakeholders to ensure your child gets the best care they deserve. This holistic care is important for your child’s wellbeing and Capital Physiotherapy will deliver.

So don’t hesitate to contact us at Capital Physiotherapy and we will get your child back to their best!

I have seen many people reporting of knee pains. Some who had a sporting incident, resulting in a traumatic damage to the knee; while others have been a gradual progression of knee pain. Initially the pain is described as mild, an annoying ache. With ongoing aggravation, the pain progresses in a sharper type, where it can eventually stop people from doing their daily activities. With these gradual progression type of pain, it is important that the knee is looked after quickly so that further aggravation and worsening of symptoms can be avoided.

The quadriceps muscles are made up of 3 main group of muscles. The first in the Vastus Lateralis; the second is the Vastus Intermedialis and the third is the Vastus Medialis Oblique. Each of these muscles attaches onto the patella and has its own direction of pull. The VL pulls the knee cap laterally (to the outside), while the VI pulls the knee cap directly upwards. The VMO, meanwhile, pulls the patella medially (to the inside).

Each of these muscles will interact in such a way that the knee cap is pulled directly up along the patellar groove. By keeping the knee cap moving smoothly along this groove, you can minimise the pressure around the knee cap.

As you can imagine, any issues with the quadriceps, will result in this finely tuned movement of the knee cap to be disturbed, causing issues in the future.

Improper training, could potentially result in the VL being overworked and getting much stronger than the VMO. You can see this when someone does a squat or a lunge and their knees are moving sideways. This results in an imbalance of the patella as it move up and down along the patella groove. The result of this would be increased friction along one side of the patella which will gradually become increasingly worsening knee pain.

Injuries to the knee will also affect the movement of the patella. The more significant and frequent injuries you have in the knee, the more your VMO becomes less activated. This will have the same impact as the above scenario over time; mainly a gradual worsening of pain; as well as wear and tear along your knee cap.

It is therefore imperative that you get your knee pain looked at as soon as you can. Further postponement as well as ongoing aggravation will result in worsening of your symptoms and finally preventing you from doing your exercises.

Come to our physios at Capital Physiotherapy. Our appointments are strictly 1-on-1 and we provide longer than industry standard appointments to truly understand, not just your body, but your exercise routine as well as a multitude of other factors that can affect you. It is only with a great understanding of your situation will you achieve the outcome you deserve.

So don’t wait any longer and call us now!