Your Knee Might Not Be the Problem, Your Spine May Be
Knee pain has a way of showing up everywhere, the stairs you used to climb without a second thought, the walk you used to enjoy, even settling in for a restful night. When the pain lingers no matter what you've tried, it's natural to feel annoyed, or to question whether the real cause has been found yet. You might be surprised to learn that the knee can be the messenger of pain rather than its true source. Johnson Chiropractic breaks down what you need to know about this often-overlooked cause of knee pain ...and how chiropractic care may address the knee pain as well as back pain for relief!
THE HIDDEN CONNECTION BETWEEN YOUR SPINE AND YOUR KNEE
Your knee doesn't work independently. A lengthy chain of nerves connects your knee to your lower back, passing through the hip and thigh before reaching your lower leg and foot. When something along that pathway gets irritated or compressed, your body can register it as knee pain, even if the knee joint itself is in good shape. This isn't just a idea, it shows up in real patient cases. A recent case study followed a woman whose persistent thigh pain after knee surgery simply wouldn't go away. The true source turned out to have nothing to do with her knee, it was a hamstring injury compressing the nerve running down the back of her leg. Another study looked at patients whose knee pain lingered long after surgery and found that nerve compression along the outer and inner leg is frequently overlooked, and the researchers pointed to a more thorough hands-on exam, one that checks strength, sensation, and how the nerve responds to specific movements, as key to catching it. (1,2) At Johnson Chiropractic, this is exactly the level of attentive evaluation we bring to every exam.
HOW A CAREFUL CHIROPRACTIC EXAM FINDS THE REAL SOURCE
This is precisely why a careful, comprehensive chiropractic exam is so important. Since the knee, hip, and spine are all linked through shared nerve pathways, a skilled chiropractor like yours at Johnson Chiropractic won't simply focus on the joint that's hurting. This involves assessing how well your lower back is moving and functioning, evaluating nerve response along the whole leg, and watching for signs that suggest nerve involvement rather than a simple joint issue. By looking at the whole picture, your spine and your leg together, your chiropractor can help you understand what's really behind your pain. Having that perception makes all the difference in your care. That's the difference between a care plan that treats symptoms and one that actually solves the problem.
READY TO GET TO THE ROOT OF YOUR KNEE PAIN? CONTACT Johnson Chiropractic!
If relief has been harder to find than you'd hoped, it's worth considering whether your spine could be involved. At Johnson Chiropractic, we take a comprehensive approach, examining your spine and legs together, to pinpoint the true source of your pain and create a plan that addresses it, not just masks it.
Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Luigi Albano on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as he illustrates the relief possible with a drug-free approach to knee osteoarthritis, applying the same spine-based principles to the knee that he uses in treating the spine with non-surgical, non-drug Cox® Technic protocols.
We're here to help you find explanationsand lasting relief. Give us a call or stop in, we're ready to help you feel like you again. Make your Richmond chiropractic appointment now.
