Rotator cuff tears are one of the most common shoulder injuries which can often cause a significant impact on an individual’s function.

The term “rotator cuff” refers to a group of four muscles and tendons enveloping the shoulder joint. The role of the rotator cuff is to provide stability and allow smooth motion of the shoulder joint.

An injury or tear in the rotator cuff can occur due to various reasons, such as acute trauma, repetitive overhead motions or aging.

Common symptoms of a rotator cuff tear

Role of Physiotherapy in the Treatment of a Rotator Cuff Tear

There are several treatment options available for rotator cuff tears, ranging from conservative
approaches to surgical intervention.

Physiotherapy plays a crucial role in the treatment regime of rotator cuff tears irrespective of the severity of the injury.

The goal of physiotherapy intervention is to relieve pain, improve shoulder mobility and restore function following a rotator cuff tear. This may include strengthening or mobility exercises, hands-on treatment, injury education and activity modification.

Key Physiotherapy Interventions for Rotator Cuff Tears

Why Opt for Physiotherapy?

The prognosis of a rotator cuff tear greatly depends the type, size, and location of the tear. It can also be affected by the patient’s age, overall health, and adherence to the treatment plan.

Nonetheless, many patients with rotator cuff tears show significant improvement with physiotherapy. It’s noteworthy that even in cases requiring surgical intervention, pre-surgery (prehab) and post-surgery physiotherapy are essential to ensure successful outcomes.

Physiotherapy for rotator cuff tears offers a comprehensive approach to treatment, addressing not only the symptoms but also the underlying causes of the condition.

By improving strength and flexibility, promoting correct movement patterns, and offering education, physiotherapy plays a pivotal role in the recovery and rehabilitation process.

Whether you’re looking to return to your daily routine, work, or sports, physiotherapy can guide you on your path to optimal shoulder health.

If you have a rotator cuff tear and require treatment, book an appointment with one of our physiotherapists, or call us to discuss how we can help you.

Knee Osteoarthritis (OA) is a prevalent condition that can lead to chronic pain and a significant reduction in mobility. This form of arthritis affects millions of people worldwide, hindering their daily activities and quality of life.

There is hope for people suffering from this condition with the help of appropriate physiotherapy interventions. This post will delve into how physiotherapy can be an
effective tool in combating knee arthritis.

Understanding Knee Osteoarthritis

Role of Physiotherapy in Knee Osteoarthritis Treatment

Physiotherapy is a non-surgical, non-pharmacological intervention that plays a crucial role in managing the symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.

The aim of physiotherapy is to alleviate pain, improve joint function, and enhance the patient’s quality of life. It employs an individualized approach, tailored to the patient’s condition, needs, and goals.

Key Physiotherapy Interventions for Knee Arthritis

There are several key physiotherapy interventions that are particularly effective for managing knee osteoarthritis:

Why Opt for Arthritis Physiotherapy?

There are many benefits of physiotherapy intervention for knee arthritis. Not only can it help reduce pain and improve function, but it can also empower patients to manage their symptoms independently long-term. By incorporating physiotherapy for arthritis, patients can reduce the need for medications and even delay or prevent the need for surgical intervention.

In conclusion, knee osteoarthritis may pose challenges, but with the right treatment approach, the condition’s impact can be significantly reduced. An effective knee arthritis treatment plan, can lead to improved mobility, decreased pain, and an overall better quality of life.

However, it is important to remember that every patient is unique and what works for one may not work for another. Therefore, any treatment plan should be customized to the patient’s specific needs and circumstances under the guidance of a qualified healthcare professional.

Book an appointment at Benefit Physiotherapy if you require assistance with physio treatment for knee osteoarthritis or call us to discuss how we can help you.

Maintaining good posture is vital for overall well-being, but in today’s world, our sedentary lifestyles often lead to poor posture.

Slouching at desks, hunching over smartphones, and insufficient physical activity all contribute to postural imbalances.

Fortunately, physiotherapy offers a holistic approach to postural correction by addressing the root causes of bad posture and helping individuals restore good alignment.

In this blog post, we will explore the causes of poor posture and discuss how physiotherapy can improve it.

Causes of Bad Posture

Ways Physiotherapy Can Improve Poor Posture

Physiotherapy plays a vital role in identifying and addressing the root causes of poor posture.

A physiotherapist will conduct a comprehensive assessment to evaluate your posture, muscle imbalances, and movement patterns. Based on this assessment, a personalised treatment plan can be developed.

Here are some common ways physiotherapy can improve poor posture:

Benefits of Improved Posture

Physiotherapy provides a comprehensive and effective approach to postural correction. By addressing the causes of poor posture and utilizing a range of therapeutic techniques, physiotherapists can help individuals regain correct alignment. Whether you spend long hours at a desk or have developed postural imbalances from other activities, seeking physiotherapy guidance can play a pivotal role in enhancing your overall well-being. Invest in your posture today for a healthier and more vibrant tomorrow.

Book an appointment at Benefit Physiotherapy if you require assistance with postural correction or call us to discuss how we can help you with your posture.

In the world of orthopaedics and physiotherapy a CAM boot (Controlled Ankle Motion boot) is used in the rehabilitation process of foot fractures and overuse foot injuries.

What is a CAM boot?

Understanding the Role of CAM boots in Foot Fracture Rehabilitation

Foot fractures are among the most prevalent types of orthopaedic injuries. They can occur as a result of acute trauma, such as a fall or a sudden impact, or from chronic stress.

Once a fracture occurs, immediate immobilization is necessary to prevent further damage and to allow the healing process to begin.

This is where a CAM boot comes into play.

The boot provides the necessary immobilization by limiting the range of motion of the ankle and foot. This controlled motion can significantly speed up the healing process by preventing unnecessary strain on the injured area, while still allowing some degree of mobility.

It’s worth noting that the boot’s design provides a more natural gait than traditional casts, which can provide improved comfort and prevent other compensatory injuries.

The Walker: An Essential Tool for Overuse Foot Injuries

Incorporating CAM boots into Your Rehabilitation Plan

Whether you are recovering from a foot fracture or an overuse injury, a CAM boot can be an effective addition to your rehabilitation plan. While the boot plays a crucial role in the initial stages of recovery, it’s equally important to follow a comprehensive rehabilitation program designed by a medical professional. This program should include targeted exercises to rebuild strength, flexibility, and balance once the healing of injured structures has begun.

Remember, the goal of using a CAM boot is to protect the foot and ankle during the healing process while allowing for controlled motion. It is essential to follow the guidance of your healthcare provider regarding when to wear the boot, how much weight to put on the foot, and when to start transitioning out of the boot.

If you have suffered an overuse foot injury or sustained a foot/ankle fracture, contact us at Benefit Physiotherapy to discuss if a CAM boot is the right solution for you!

Tech neck is a term that has been around for a long-time, but has become more relevant than ever with today’s high usage of laptops, tablets and smartphones.

It’s likely that you’re reading this article on some form of portable device, and it’s even more likely that you’re reading it in a slouched posture. The size and shape of these devices requires us to adopt poor postures in order to use them. Whether it’s rounding the shoulders to reach across the small laptop keyboard, or poking your chin forwards to read the small text on your smartphone, these postures are bound to leave you tight, sore and maybe even injured.

Read below for tips on tech neck pain relief.

What is Tech Neck?

Symptoms of Tech Neck

The symptoms of tech neck begin with aching and soreness in the neck muscles and between the shoulder blades. This usually gets worse in the evening after spending the day on smart devices.

More developed symptoms may include; headaches, referred pain to the shoulders and arms, tingling or numbness in the hands and stiffness of neck movements.

In the long-term, tech neck may cause: 

• chronic headaches
• wear and tear of the neck joints leading to osteoarthritis 
• increased risk of disc injuries in the neck 
• increased vulnerability to neck strains

How to Prevent Tech Neck?

Conditions like tech neck are becoming more and more common, especially in younger generations. Advancements in technology are likely to see this trend continue. But simple strategies and proper management can help prevent the onset of tech neck and other postural related injuries.

Physiotherapy for Tech Neck

In chronic cases, tech neck can be difficult to overcome. As the neck and back muscles get weaker it becomes more and more difficult to maintain good postures and prevent future irritation. In these cases, your physiotherapist will provide specific strengthening exercises to overcome these weaknesses and help break the cycle of tech neck.

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) is one of the most common and most difficult knee injuries to manage. It is an injury faced by athletes of all shapes, sizes and skill levels.

The fact that it’s labelled as a syndrome tells us there is not one specific known structure causing the pain, which is what makes PFPS such a complex injury to treat. And often the underlying causes of the pain are not addressed, shown in the alarming number (70-90%) of individuals who experience recurring or chronic pain from PFPS.

However, with the correct guidance from your physiotherapist, with physiotherapy for patellofemoral pain you will be able to promptly manage the condition and prevent future reoccurrence.

What is the Patellofemoral Joint?

What are the Symptoms of PFPS?

The main symptom felt in PFPS in pain under or around the knee cap. This shouldn’t be mistaken for pain on the outside of the leg into the iliotibial band (ITB).

The pain is commonly aggravated by movements such as walking up or down stairs, squatting, lunging, kneeling and running. These movements place extra pressure onto the patella and irritate the surrounding tissues which causes the pain.

Sometimes the pain can be worse after long periods of sitting. You may also have mild swelling in the knee. The knee might feel stiff, but you should have full range of motion when bending and straightening the knee.

There is usually some clicking or grinding heard when moving the knee.

What causes the pain?

There is ongoing debate as to what causes the pain in PFPS. It seems that the pain develops not from the bone itself, but from the underlying inflammation in the patellofemoral joint which causes irritation in the surrounding soft tissues.

But the cause of the pain is only the first step. There can be a number of underlying reasons that you’ve developed this injury which need to be addressed. Some of them may not be coming from the knee!

Anatomy of the Patellofemoral Joint

The patella sits within a grooved surface on the femur called the trochlear groove. This provides stability to the joint and helps prevent dislocation. However, some people naturally have shallow grooves or have a patella which doesn’t sit in the centre of this groove. These individuals may be at a greater risk of developing PFPS.

Overlaying the patella is a structure called the quadriceps tendon. It extends from the quadriceps muscle, over the patella and connects into the top of the shin bone – using the patella as a lever to transmit force from the quadriceps muscle to the knee. Since the quadriceps are a major muscle group responsible for power and stability around the knee, weaknesses in this muscle can cause PFPS.

How to treat the pain PFPS?

The good news is there are some simple steps you can begin at home to start reducing the pain caused by PFPS. The first is reducing load by modifying or reducing your aggravating movements. If the pain occurs when running, stop running. If it occurs when kneeling on hard floors, kneel on cushions. 

The next stage would be using ice packs. Applying an ice pack for 10-15 minutes directly to the painful region will help limit the inflammation in the joint and numb the pain. Have a look at our article on the benefits of ice packs to understand how icing helps injuries.

Further passive treatments like taping and bracing can also be used to reduce pain, however, discussing this with your physiotherapist is advised to ensure you have the best outcome.

Remember that these early treatments are pain relievers and not long-term solutions.

Identifying and eliminating the cause.

A skilled physiotherapist will be able to identify the causes of your injury. Once the cause is identified the rest should be simple – it may be some light massage and stretching, strength exercises of the hips and thighs, or simply changing some of your parameters around training.

The most common causes of PFPS are:

1. Errors in training – Whether this is poor squatting technique or a sudden desire to master hill sprints, the amount of load you put through your kneecap will be directly correlated to the amount of pain you experience. But changing your training loads doesn’t necessarily mean giving up all together. It may just require a slight scale back while you work on other areas to resolve the injury.
2. Muscle weakness – the two main muscle groups that influence the patella are the quadriceps (thigh muscles) and gluteals (buttock muscles). These are both require to maintain patella alignment and stability under high loads. Being specific about how we target these muscles is important and something your physiotherapist will be aware of. By gaining more strength you develop more stability and patella alignment which will reduce your pain.
3. Poor flexibility – There is more force through the patella when the knee is bent. So it makes sense that if you’re unable to fully straighten your knee (hence the knee is constantly bent), you will be more likely to experience knee pain. Performing a flexibility program to help straighten the knee will reduce the strain on the patella and reduce patellofemoral pain. This can be achieved with some light stretching and foam rolling.

How Physiotherapy for Patellofemoral Pain can Help.

Physios are an essential for treating PFPS, especially when it has become chronic. Understanding the correct activity modifications and the most effective exercises to perform is essential in curing the injury. Your physiotherapist will take a detailed history and identify the most important components to your situation.

If your rehabilitation is done right, PFPS should be a thing of the past and you’ll be back to exercising in no time!

If you need help with PFPS, make an appointment with one of our experienced physiotherapists.

Also known as a high ankle sprain, an ankle syndesmosis injury is common in sports such as skiing, rugby and soccer. They involve a different part of the ankle to the usual ankle sprain, which was covered in a previous post. Syndesmosis injuries often require accurate diagnosis and early intervention to ensure proper healing of the damaged structures.

What is a Syndesmosis?

So when we are discussing syndesmosis injuries, we are talking about damage to the ligaments which hold the shin bones together. If these bones are not held together, the ankle will not be able to properly function.

High Ankle Sprains

As the name suggests, syndesmosis injuries will be felt higher up the ankle compared to a regular ankle sprain. It will occur when the ankle is rotated with significant force, which forces the shin bones apart.

A common example of this would be when a skier falls and their ski gets caught in the snow as the skier continues to roll down the mountain. The momentum of their body twisting as the ankle gets caught in the ski can create enough force to tear the ligaments of the syndesmosis. 

When the ligaments tear, there is nothing left to hold the shin bones together and they begin to split apart. This makes it extremely painful to walk on and in most cases the injured person won’t be able to put weight onto their foot.

If you have sustained a high ankle sprain you will likely feel immediate pain in the ankle and find it difficult to walk. You may have heard a ‘pop’ or ‘crack’ sound when the injury occurred. Swelling will gradually develop around the ankle and you may even get bruising down to your foot.

What should I do before I seek help?

The first step is to take weight off the ankle and foot! Weight-bearing on an injured syndesmosis can cause further damage. Your physiotherapist will provide a boot and possibly crutches to prevent further damage to this injury.

Once weight is off the ankle it is advised that you apply the RICE principles for acute management.

• Rest: take weight off the foot and use crutches if needed
• Ice: apply ice packs to the painful areas. You should apply ice for 10 minutes every hour. For more information on icing take a look at our previous post (LINK TO ICE VS HEAT POST).
• Compression: If you have a compression sock, use it to restrict movement of the syndesmosis and limit the swelling. Your physiotherapist will be able to apply taping and possibly a CAMboot to give greater compression to the joint.
• Elevation: Elevate above the level of the heart to drain some of the swelling in the ankle.

How to Manage Syndesmosis Injuries

It is always advised that you seek professional help from your physiotherapist for treatment of these injuries. It is important to have an x-ray of the ankle to assess the degree of separation between the shin bones and rule out any fractures which may be sustained.

In many cases, your physiotherapist will be able to provide support to the ankle and give the torn ligaments the right environment to heal in. If these ligaments don’t heal correctly it can lead to permanent damage to the ankle. In more severe cases, the syndesmosis will require surgical repair. The purpose of this is to pull the two shin bones back together, thus allowing the ankle to function as it previously had.

How Long Before My Injury is Healed?

The prognosis for syndesmosis injuries varies significantly depending on how much separation has occurred at the shin bones. Generally, you would expect double the recovery time compared to a normal ankle sprain. More minor sprains will take 6-8 weeks to fully heal, where bad sprains will take up to three months.

If your syndesmosis needs to be surgically repaired, you would expect 4-6 months before you fully recover. However, this may vary depending on your surgeon and what type of surgery you’ve had.

Summary

Syndesmosis injuries involving the ankle are difficult to manage and can often lead to long periods away from sport.

If not properly diagnosed and managed there is significant risk of long-term damage, chronic instability and development of ankle osteoarthritis.

Early consultation with your physiotherapist significantly improves your chances of a successful rehabilitation.

What is Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)?

Repetitive strain injury, a name not given to a specific injury, but rather an umbrella term for a group of injuries caused by repetitive use of a single part of the body.

All areas of the body that involve joint movements are prone to RSI, but it’s most commonly diagnosed in the hands and wrist. This is because we use our hands for most of our daily activities, whether it be hammering a nail, kneading dough or typing this blog post.

Often the strain causes injury to the involved tendon or the underlying joint.

How Do Repetitive Strain Injuries Occur?

It seems like a silly question because there’s an obvious answer – repetitive strain injuries are caused by repetitive strain. But it’s an important question to ask.

Sometimes there’s a simple solution – stop the repetitive action and your pain will settle down. But it’s not always so obvious. RSI can be caused by intrinsic factors such as muscle strength/endurance, and extrinsic factors like posture and desk set up.

By understanding the factors contributing to your injury, you’ll be able to remove the cause and allow the body to heal.

What Are The Symptoms Of RSI?

The symptoms of RSI can vary depending on the area of injury and the severity of the strain. Specific areas of the body may respond differently because of the local anatomy and our ability to modify our environment for the injury.

For example, repetitive overload in the wrist can cause a nerve irritation in the carpal tunnel which leads to symptoms of numbness, burning, swelling and heaviness in the hand.

When compared to repetitive strain of the forearm which loads a tendon (such as with golfer’s elbow), your repetitive strain will give you symptoms of pain and weakness.

How To Prevent Repetitive Strain Injury?

The best method of improving your outcomes with RSI is to prevent it from occurring in the first instance. In many cases this will simply involve taking more regular breaks or longer breaks so that your body can recovery from the load that’s it has undertaken.

In instances where external factors are placing additional stress on your body, changing these to reduce stress can make a big difference to your risk of injury. For example, using tools that are too large for your hand size will force you to adopt a wider grip and place additional strain through the fingers and wrist.

Intrinsic influences of RSI can also be addressed to prevent future injury. Most often this is seen in people undertaking a new task that they haven’t previously performed.

An example of this is a tradie’s apprentice who has recently come into the workforce. Gradually their body will adapt to the new workload. But a supplementary strengthening program can be an effective way to reduce the risk of injury.

Its also common to see intrinsic risk factors in people with previous injury. Previous injury may cause weakness or stiffness which can contribute to RSI. Treating these longstanding issues may not be successful, but understanding how you can modify the task you’re performing to accommodate for your injury can successfully prevent RSI.

Ultimately, identifying the risk factors that are most relevant to your situation and implementing strategies to overcome them is the most effective way to reduce your risk of developing RSI.

RSI Treatment

The key to treating RSI is to stop the activity that is causing the RSI. However, this is not always as simple as it seems. Often people will struggle to eliminate the cause when it’s related to their work or sports. Speak to your physiotherapist for advice on how you can modify your activity to prevent RSI, rather than completely stopping the activity.

Common self-help options for RSI treatment include:

Summary

Your physiotherapist is essential for effective treatment of these conditions. They will provide a detailed assessment to identify and treat your pain, discuss potential causes of the RSI, and provide an adequate long-term rehabilitation strategy to prevent future occurrence of RSI.

Book an appointment with our physio for assistance with your repetitive strain injury.

Calf strains are a common injury in running and jumping sports. They come in all different shapes and sizes.

A minor calf strain may feel like a slight bruise when you are walking, a really bad calf strain will have you limping around on crutches for several weeks.

The most frustrating part about calf strains is that they frequently reoccur. This is mostly due to poor compliance with rehabilitation exercises.

The Calf Muscles

What Is A Calf Strain?

The term ‘calf strain’ is the common way of describing a torn calf muscle.

Technically speaking, there is no difference between a torn calf muscle, a pulled calf muscle and a calf strain. However, it does exclude injury to the calf connection points at the knee and Achilles tendon.

In essence, a calf strain involves tearing of the muscle fibers in the calf muscle. The severity of injury in a calf strain is determined by the size of the tear in the calf muscle.

A calf strain will feel like a small pop or pull in the calf region. That pop/pull sensation is the calf muscle tearing. The tear will generally occur because there is pressure being placed on the calf that it is unable to withstand. The most common occurrence of this is while you are sprinting, since running places huge demands on the calf muscle. 

Another component which will lead to that dreaded calf strain is fatigue. This is seen more in long distance runners, but is also common in amateur athletes playing 90 minutes of football. When the body is not conditioned to long periods of running, the calf becomes very fragile and is more prone to tearing.

Signs Of A Calf Strain

Calf strains are often simple to self-diagnose. You will feel a sudden pain in the back of the leg and possibly feel a pop/pull sensation at the time. There will be immediate pain in the calf which gets worse with activities such as running and jumping.

In more severe tears it’s likely that you will be unable to run or jump at all. While the muscle is still warm these symptoms may not be as obvious, but after cooling down they will become more apparent.

Expect that the calf strain will get worse over the next 48-72 hours. This is because the rest of the muscle will cool down causing spasm and the inflammatory process will have taken effect. You may notice some swelling or bruising in the calf after 2 days.

Within this period you should avoid all calf stretches! Stretching out a tear will cause further distension of the muscle fibers and can lead to worsening of the original strain.

How Long Will A Calf Strain Take To Heal?

How to Treat A Pulled Calf Muscle

Once you have recognized that you’ve sustained a calf muscle strain, follow these steps for optimum recovery.

1.   The first thing you should do is avoid aggravating it further. Generally, this will mean stopping the sport that you’re playing and getting off your feet. This should be applied to even the most minor of calf strains to prevent them from getting worse and turning into larger tears.
2.   Once you’re off your feet, the next step is to apply an ice pack to the injured area. Applying ice packs for 10 minutes every hour will help limit the inflammation and reduce pain in the calf. Do not use anti-inflammatory medication or ointments on your calf muscle strain! Inflammation is an essential component of the healing process and will be required for the calf muscle to mend. Though we want to limit the inflammation with use of ice packs, completely removing the inflammation with medicated anti-inflammatories will cause poor long-term outcomes for the calf (even if it feels good in the short-term).
3.   At this point you’ve rested the calf and applied the ice packs hourly, it’s time to make an appointment with your physiotherapist. Your physio will guide you through a staged rehabilitation program for the calf muscle. The timing and application of this program will be crucial to achieving optimal recovery in the shortest possible time. Each calf will be different depending on the severity of the calf tear and the overall fitness of the individual. The ultimate goal of physiotherapy for calf strains is to allow the muscle to heal properly and regain the former strength of the calf to allow a smooth and unrestricted transition back to sports.

Do I Need A Scan To Diagnose My Calf Muscle Tear?

No, unless told otherwise.

Many patients and health professionals prefer to have their injury diagnosed by an ultrasound or MRI. The truth is that these are expensive tools that don’t provide much value when dealing with calf injuries.

The scan will help measure the size of the muscle tear at a single point in time. It won’t help determine whether the calf tear is healing or when you’ll be able to go back to your sport.

Calf strains are often a recurring injury which will prevent athletes from participating in sport. It’s important to recognise the signs of a calf strain and the immediate treatments you should apply to get the best outcomes.

A physiotherapist guided rehabilitation will improve your rehab outcomes and help prevent future injury of the calf.

Make an appointment with our physio for assistance with your calf strain.

When it comes to knee pain, the most common areas to experience symptoms are the front and sides of the knee. But pain behind the knee is just as common and can occur for various reasons. It can be located deep inside the knee joint or more superficially in the surrounding structures.

The reasons that back of knee pain is overlooked is because it usually can’t be narrowed down to a single structure. 

Pain behind the knee also comes in various forms –

• it could be sudden severe sharp pain or mild diffuse aches
• there may be swelling and inflammation in the joint – or no swelling at all
• you may have tightness behind the knee which will cause problems with bending or straightening the knee.

Let’s look at the common causes of pain behind the knee and what you can do to solve these problems.

The first step to determining what is causing you pain behind the knee is to determine if the problem is intra- or extra-articular, that is inside or outside the knee joint.

As a general rule, if you can place your finger on the painful structure it most likely an extra-articular injury such as a tendinopathy.

If it feels like the problem lies deeper within the knee you’re dealing with an intra-articular problem such as cartilage damage.

Meniscus Tear

Osteoarthritis

Arthritis is a degenerative condition which causes the bone structure to deteriorate and the internal cartilage to wear away.

It is common to develop osteoarthritis of the knee because it is a joint that bears a lot of weight in our sporting and daily lives. Osteoarthritis is more prevalent in people over the age of 50, however, can also develop in younger people who have suffered knee injuries.

Osteoarthritis which affects the back part of the knee joint is a common cause of pain behind the knee. The contact pressure created between the two diseased bones causes pain and inflammation in the joint which leads to pain. This will mostly occur when the knee is bent because it creates more pressure at the back of the joint. It will also cause secondary issues which leads to tightness behind the knee. Placing weight through the knee will also cause pain with osteoarthritis.

Although we cannot treat the arthritis directly, simple interventions can help reduce the pain caused at the back of the knee.

Rest and ice are useful in reducing the initial pain of arthritis in the knee. Strengthening exercises to help support the arthritic joint will prevent future irritation of the knee.

In more severe cases, a joint replacement may be required to overcome this pain.

Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL Tears)

Muscle Behind The Knee

The main muscles behind the knee are the calf and hamstring muscles. The calf sits below the knee but travels across the knee joint to act as a joint stabiliser. The hamstring tendons are the rope-like structures which are located on the inside and outside of the knee. These can both cause pain behind the knee. 

The tendons of these muscles behind the knee will become painful because of an overload. This might be after sport, a long hike or a big gym session. In some more severe cases, the hamstring tendon can be pulled off the bone during a sprint.

Tendon injuries can be treated with rest, ice and a graded strengthening program. Check out our tendinopathy article for more insight into the pathology and treatment of tendinopathy.

Baker’s Cyst

A Baker’s Cyst is a very common cause of pain behind the knee.

A Baker’s cyst will form when fluid leaks out the knee joint and forms a pocket of swelling contained at the back of the knee. This will place pressure at the back of the knee and can cause pain when the knee is bent.

Larger Baker’s cysts can be problematic and burst which will cause severe pain behind the knee. Treatment of a Baker’s cyst often involves rest and icing. In more persistent cases, you may need to have the cyst drained to reduce pressure in the back of the knee.

What To Do Now?

These common causes of pain behind the knee should be assessed by your physiotherapist to determine the cause of your problem and the most effective treatment to resolve your pain behind the knee.

A thorough understanding of the cause of your pain is the first step on your road to recovery.

Your physiotherapist will be able to diagnose the injury, determine an effective rehabilitation strategy, and refer you for any imaging if necessary. Book an appointment today.