LACEY (WA) – Most people think that when they get knee pain, it’ll eventually “ease off” and go away on its own. That they’ll wake up one morning and like “magic”, knee pain will be a thing of the past… But then 6 months later you’re still living with the discomfort of knee pain – often even worse than it was when it came on. Does that sound like you? Another scenario we see all the time at Penrose Physical Therapy is when people go to their doctor, and the well-meaning doctor tells them to “rest”, “try these painkillers” and “come back in 6 weeks if it’s not better”…
But then, 6 weeks later, they end up going back to the same doctor because it hasn’t gotten any better. Here they are given ANOTHER prescription of even stronger pills, maybe a knee support – or worse, told that the ONLY thing left to do, is to go down the route of knee replacement surgery. I hear worrying stories each week from people who have said yes to knee surgery – to find 6 months down the line, knee pain has come back.
Knee pain after knee replacement surgery is a tricky topic. Most medical professionals will tell you that knee replacement surgery is the “solution” for anyone with arthritis and painful knees that have lasted for months. But the reality is, once the procedure is done it doesn’t guarantee you won’t have pain. Which worries me! Especially when we’ve helped so many people like you live life with a lot less knee pain naturally! I believe in many cases that the body has the capacity to heal itself when given the right conditions to do so. When I talk about the “right conditions”. I’m talking about 3 things:
1) Physical
2) Diet
3) Mindset
When these 3 conditions are met, the blocks are removed that prevent your body from healing your knees. When it comes to knee replacement surgery – it is very difficult to never feel side affects from the metal and plastic. Why? Well, it makes sense that your knees would still click and hurt months and even years after knee replacement surgery. After all, you’re getting the bones in your leg replaces with plastic and metal. I remember how bad it hurt to break my wrist, so much so that I would never willingly put myself through knee surgery if I didn’t HAVE to. Especially if I knew there were natural options available to me to help get my knees on the mend. If you’ve got painful knees, and you’ve been told that one of your most hopeful options to get rid of it is surgery, I’d recommend you consider your other options first. Ideally starting with a solid approach on the premise that your body can help your knees with the addition of natural solutions.
What most people don’t know is that hands-on physical therapy can help you get back on the path to healing. If you’re confused about the advice you’ve been given, and you think you’ve already tried all of your options, here’s 4 ways PT is better than continuous medication (or surgery) for helping ease knee pain…
1) It wins the “war”, and NOT just the little battles – PT gets to the very root of your knee pain and eases it, not mask it with little victories that don’t last in the end.
2) You’re not reliant on PT for months or years.
3) It doesn’t lure you into a false sense of “Things are going OK today…” to then be hit by the pain when you didn’t expect it.
It can be confusing knowing what to do about your knee pain when you’ve been told so many different things by different people! I just want you to know before you go down the surgery route – it’s worth finding out if there’s a way to put an end to it by avoiding dangerous knee surgery and being put through months (sometimes years) of pain.
The author, Jennifer Penrose, is a Physical Therapist and owner of Penrose Physical Therapy. If you have any questions about knee pain, you can call (360) 456-1444 or email jennifer@penrosept.com
P.S. If you want to hear more healthy tips from Dr. Penrose, tune into her monthly podcast “Stay Healthy South Sound” on iTunes, Google Play or Spotify.
