- Injury Treatment, Physiotherapy
If you’ve suffered a knee injury, you will need to undergo various types of treatments to resolve the problem and regain your mobility. The treatment plan and its duration depend on the kind of injury and its severity.
In this article, we will explain in detail the most common types of knee injuries. We will also discuss how a physical therapist in Atlanta can help you recover.
What Kind of Knee Injury Did You Suffer?
Minor strains can be often treated with the RICE method. This stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Other knee injuries are a lot more severe and may require surgery or long-term physical therapy.
Once the team at our Atlanta injury center has a chance to examine you and review your medical records, they’ll have a better idea of how to help you. Our doctors and physical therapists treat many common types of knee injuries, such as:
- Tendon tears – This occurs when a tendon in your knee tears. These are usually caused by an illness, tendinitis, or even steroid use. The doctor may recommend surgery followed by physical therapy.
- Dislocation – A dislocation is when the bones in your knee are forced out of their normal spot. This can be extremely painful. A doctor may be able to pop the knee back into place.
- Sprains and strains – These injuries are caused when your ligament or tendon is stretched too far. It happens when you overuse your knee or engage in repetitive bending.
- ACL Injury – An anterior cruciate ligament injury is often caused by playing sports, overexertion, or a motor vehicle accident. An ACL tear usually requires surgery.
Many knee injuries benefit from physical therapy. This helps reduce pain, improves your mobility, and can also speed up the healing process.
We Will Run the Necessary Diagnostic Tests
As with most injuries, we will have to run certain diagnostic tests. This will give us a much clearer picture of how serious your knee injury is.
Some of the tests may include:
- CT scan
- MRI
- X-ray
- Physical examination
The results of these tests will let your doctor know how serious your injuries are. If you’re dealing with a recurring knee injury, these tests will also tell us if there’s a lot of scar tissue from prior injuries.
Physical Therapy for a Knee Injury
Many knee injuries benefit from physical therapy. A physical therapist can teach you special stretching exercises and other movements to increase the strength and conditioning of your knee. This helps reduce pain, improves your mobility, and can also speed up the healing process.
For more serious knee injuries, your physical therapist in Atlanta may resort to E-Stim. This is electrical stimulation and it is applied to the muscles where you feel pain and discomfort. The device uses low-voltage electrical stimulation to target affected areas in and around your knee.
How Can PT Help You Recover From Knee Surgery?
Many surgeons recommend physical therapy to their patients. This normally takes place within a few days after the surgery.
There are a few reasons why surgeons do this:
- You are going to need to know how far to push your knee in the days and weeks following surgery.
- You will need to learn exercises that can help gradually restore your knee to its normal function.
- If you had intensive knee surgery, you may need to learn new ways of navigating your everyday world. The last thing you want to do is aggravate your injury.
- Physical therapy can also improve your strength and conditioning. This will help your knee injury heal faster.
How Long Until Your Knee Injury Heals?
While you’re receiving physical therapy, you may need to come to our injury center several times a week. The length of time you’ll need to undergo PT really depends on the severity and type of knee injury.
Some people only need PT for a couple of weeks. Others come to our Atlanta treatment center for months. It depends on the nature and extent of your injury as well as how well your body responds to treatment.
Contact Our Office to Schedule an Initial Assessment
If you’ve suffered a knee injury, it’s important that you get it checked out right away. One way to do that is to visit our injury center in Atlanta. We’ll run the necessary diagnostic tests. Once we know the nature and extent of your knee injury, we will also design a care plan custom-tailored to your recovery.
Simply give us a call at 855-475-2588 today.
