This question was sent to me yesterday by a reader suffering with knee pain at night: “Jennifer, I’ve suffered with on-off type knee pain now for more than a year. What I can’t put my finger on is when it started or why, and more confusing is that my pain gets worse as the day goes on. But whenever I wake up the pain is gone – or is considerably less. Yet, by the end of another day, my knee aches, sometimes feels hot and swollen and I’m often in considerable pain – especially if I’ve been out for a long walk with the dog. Any ideas?” – Beverly, 57, Lacey. What’s happening here is likely to be a simple case of the muscles around Beverly’s knee joint being “weak”. As in, the muscles just aren’t strong enough to last through the day or cope with what she wants her body to do and where she wants to go. Think of it like this: When you go to bed at night and are ready to sleep – your body is obviously tired from all of the energy you’ve used through the day. And your muscles, well, they’ve been working too. So what happens is that they get a rest when you sleep, you wake up and they ache less because they’re less tired and feel “energized” and ready for a new day. But if a muscle, any muscle, is weak or damaged in some way, it’s not going to be able… Read More

Here is how many people go down the road to a knee replacement surgery.  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 “comeback in 6 weeks if it’s no better”… But then 6 weeks later, they end up going back to the same doctor again because it hasn’t got any better, only to be 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 comes 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… Read More

A patient came into the clinic last week limping with knee pain and wanted to know if there was something we could do to help him.Here’s what he told us had been going on the last few weeks. “I’ve had this knee pain for a few weeks now, I’m not sure what I’ve done to it but I’ve tried taking painkillers and that didn’t help. I was trying to rest it so that it wouldn’t hurt, but whenever I stood up and started moving, it hurt again so I had to sit down. Now I’m wearing a brace to see if that helps, but I can still feel the pain when I take it off. Is there anything else I can do to get rid of the pain?” I know how frustrating it can be when you’re not sure what you’ve done to hurt your knee, and even more frustrating when everything you’re trying to do to get rid of the pain – doesn’t do a thing to make it feel any better. Everyone always thinks and hopes that there will be a “quick fix” to their problem. And because we see people confused, fed-up and even skeptical about what can be done to help with their knee pain, I wanted to address this idea of “quick fixes” for your knees – or for any joint problem, whether it’s your knees, back, neck wherever, and tell you why they’re no… Read More

I’ve had a lot of questions about knee pain coming in recently, and as we’ve started this series on knee pain, I wanted to tell you about this question I got last week, which is a common problem I see people come into the clinic for. Got this question emailed to me last week by a “confused” reader of my newspaper articles suffering with knee pain… “Hey Jennifer, I’ve been suffering with knee pain in my right knee now for a few weeks. What I can’t put my finger on is what I did to make it start in the first place, and even more confusing is that it’s most painful when walking down the stairs, and only comes on 10 minutes into a run. Sometimes it aches, sometimes it feels tender and dull, but I don’t understand why I could run fine before and now I can’t without having to stop after 10 minutes. Can you help?” – Michelle, 47. There’s a good chance that what’s happening to Michelle is the same that’s happening to most people this time of year. It’s no surprise seeing as we’re now heading into the colder months. This time of year we see more people than ever in the clinic suffering with painful knees, the reason why? Because it’s around this time of year that people decide… Read More

After the summer months, knee pain is something I see a lot of in the clinic. It’s usually due to people being more active during summer. As we head back into fall, I see a lot of people with knee pain who’ve been suffering since the summer, but didn’t want to get it taken care of until now. So let’s get started with 3 things you need to know about knee pain after the summer. Last week I was on the phone with one of our regular patients, Leslie. She’s 57 from South Bay and she said: “I was making the most of the good weather by visiting Watershed Park and walking around. I was fine when I got home, but then in the morning when I woke up, my knees had a dull aching pain. At first I thought “it’s just an aching knee, I’ve probably overdone it, it’s happened before”… But the pain got worse as the day went on, and it’s still bothering me. My knees ache when I walk and I’m finding it hard to go up and down the stairs.” Now, this isn’t uncommon, especially not when we’ve had some warm weather. And when you consider that 77% of people are more active during the summer, that’s a lot of knees that could potentially become sore. The thing is, many people will put up with bad knees for days,… Read More

Have YOU ever been told that chronic back pain is just one of those things that comes with your job, family, age and daily stress? Worse, have you been told by your doctor that you “just have to accept it”, take medication, or rest for weeks on end, because nothing else can be done for chronic back pain?… If you’re aged 40+ and you answered “YES” to any of those questions, and you have suffered with low back pain for longer than 14 days now, then please pay special attention to what I’m about to tell you… It could help save your job, your independence, mobility, family and everything else you hold dear in your life. What’s more, if you’re NOT the one who’s suffering, but your husband, wife, partner, mother or father is, then please read on because I have some special information that may benefit you and them… It’s a shame that so many people think their only option is to “rest”, mask their pain with pills and hope that it just goes away… …Because as you may be experiencing, if you’ve suffered for longer than 14 days, something is wrong and there is a problem – and I want to help you by simply showing you all of the different options that are currently available to you – some of which are new, most are free, all are 100% natural and at least one of them you will have overlooked as most doctors don’t know of it, and many insurance companies… Read More

Most of us have heard of sciatica and know that it is literally a pain in the buttocks that radiates down the back of the leg.  Sciatica is nerve pain and it can be very painful varying from burning to sharp and even tingling and numbness at times. Over the last few weeks, we’ve covered quite a lot of different things surrounding back-pain but we have not covered sciatica. We’ve looked at why people get back pain when they do crunches and if there’s something they’re doing wrong, we’ve looked at some tips that can help to alleviate back pain while driving, especially if you have to drive a while to and from work every day, 5 daily habits that can help to reduce stiffness, why you need to drink more water to help relieve your back pain and last week we looked at how you can get the housework done without making your back pain worse.  Today I want to talk about sciatica and what makes it worse and what you can do about it. These are all questions I get asked on a regular basis in the clinic, so I want to answer them here to try and help more people out who might be going through the same thing and may not be aware of the help that’s available. This week, I wanted to look into sciatica in a little bit more detail, as it’s something that isn’t always covered when we talk about back-pain. Sometimes it happens. Read More

Patients are told by their doctors to work their core for low back pain.   They all want to know what are the best core exercises for low back pain?  We will start to answer that question in this blog.  Or you if  you would rather watch a tube video discussing the best core exercises for back pain or why you get pain with core exercises then click HERE. First I want to answer the most common question regarding sit ups and low back pain. “I get low back pain during sit-ups. Am I doing something wrong, or should I avoid them?” Great question! I’m glad this lady asked because so many people think to work their core means sit ups.  People equate the core to abdominals only and that is not true.  The best core exercises for low back pain include abdominals, the low back, and hips. And even though sit-ups are one of the most common go-to exercises to get your “abdominals strong” – are they really that effective? And more importantly, can this exercise cause back pain?… If you’ve ever tried to do an ab workout and realized half way through that your back is feeling things it shouldn’t be feeling, you’re not alone. For me (and for many of our patients) it’s any ab exercise that asks me to sit up on my tailbone and move my legs that causes a slight twinge in my back. Which is frustrating when you want to keep active but can’t because your back… Read More

Is back pain “driving” you mad?   If you drive to and from work every day, or if you are driving family members around from event to even than likely you’ve experienced back pain. In fact around 30-60% of drivers report having back pain at some point in their life, and a lot of the people we see in the clinic come to us in pain as a result of spending 30 minutes or more on the road, almost daily! But why does something as simple as driving trigger off back pain when it’s not exactly strenuous? Well, driving for long periods of time exposes the body to many different forces such as acceleration, sudden stops, and most notably vibrations from the road – and it especially affects those of us who drive larger vehicles. Driving also involves the use of your feet to control the car’s pedals which means they are not used to help stabilize and support your lower body as they normally would when you’re sitting. So it’s no wonder why a combination of these factors as well as the inadequate design of some vehicle seats can cause back problems for many of us. Because back pain can make driving unpleasant (and in some cases, unbearable!) I put together a list of tips to help make your next journey as pain-free as possible. Here are 7 tips to help you: 1. Get Comfortable Before You Set Off – A small irritation can quickly grow into an unbearable pain, and if… Read More

I wanted to answer a common question I get asked about stiffness which I get asked regularly by clients in the clinic:  “Jennifer do you have any advice for someone like me who isn’t in a lot of pain? I’m just incredibly stiff when I wake up on a morning, and I feel it throughout the day which means I can’t do things as easily as I’d like. Any advice for stiffness?” I’ve got plenty of tips and advice to help reduce stiffness. But first I want to clear up ‘why’ we feel stiff in the first place. A lot of people we see think that stiffness is something we feel as we get older – and while there’s some truth in that, stiffness isn’t always directly related to how old you are. Yes, as you get older your joints and muscles get stiff if you don’t exercise regularly. And it’s true that your joints become less flexible as the lubricating fluid inside them decreases, and the cartilage becomes thinner as you age… But there’s some other points to factor in too. Not drinking enough fluids and dehydration can also lead to stiffness in the muscles. Muscles are active tissues, which means they’re the kind of tissue that requires the most water in the body. Inactivity is another culprit – leaving your muscles in one place for a prolonged period (sleep, sitting in a chair, driving for hours etc.) can cause them to stiffen. Another cause can be related to stress – when… Read More

In today’s blog, I’m going to help you by telling you a story about a lady we worked with recently in the clinic who had a fall and felt less confident going places. Let’s call her Susan. As I go through Susan’s story, I’m going to tell you how we assessed her 3 Balance Systems as well as the other various factors that contribute to her balance and risk for falls. Then we’ll discuss how we used this information to design a successful treatment plan for her. Here’s Susan’s story in a nutshell: Susan came into the clinic after she fell 6 months ago while walking to her car in a gravel parking lot. She ended up with a couple bumps and bruises, but otherwise was uninjured. However, over the next several months, she became more and more worried about having another fall, so she started limiting her activity level, and she specifically avoided things like walking on uneven surfaces (since walking on the gravel was part of why she fell). She decided to come in for physical therapy because lately she’s been feeling even more unsteady on her feet, and she’s had several near-falls where she’s had to catch herself on a piece of furniture or a wall inside her home. If you have had a few falls where you caught yourself or just a few bumps and bruises you may not realize what weaknesses may be contributing to these little mishaps! Hopefully this story will make… Read More

Do You Ever Have The Sensation Of Spinning? All About Vertigo & “BPPV” Since we have been talking about balance and falls,we need to talk about what can often lead to falls: vertigo. Let’s start with the basics about vertigo: True vertigo is the sensation of spinning or movement (such as the sensation of swaying). If you’ve ever been sea sick, this is a bit like the swaying sensation, and if you ever got “the spins” in your younger years after having too much fun with alcohol, this is similar to the sensation of spinning that some people experience. There are 2 types of vertigo: “Inner-ear vertigo” is the most common type that we help people deal with in the clinic. I’ll discuss it more below. Central vertigo is related to damage to the balance centers of the brain. This includes things like strokes, MS and Parkinson’s. People with central vertigo tend to feel more unbalanced or unsteady in general, versus having sudden attacks of spinning. Today I want to focus on inner-ear vertigo. People with inner ear vertigo have very specific symptoms. Typically, they have a hard time turning their heads rapidly and walking in busy environments (like the mall). Certain positions can cause a sudden sensation of spinning which can be pretty scary at times. These positions include tipping the head back, bending forward, lying down in bed, or rolling over in bed. Read More