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How To Fix Kneecap Pain
Pain at the front of the knee, underneath, over or above the kneecap is really common and usually is very easy to fix with a couple of exercises. You can do it at home and the results are surprisingly quick—within a day or two in many cases.
The patella, or knee cap, moves in a V-shaped groove in front of your main knee joint. However this groove is quite shallow so if there are uneven forces pulling on the kneecap, it can deviate to one side and start grinding against other structures. Muscles of your thigh attach to the kneecap, but some of them come in from different angles so if one is tighter than the others the balance can be lost.
The most common cause is overly tight muscles on the outer side of the thigh. The Ilio-tibial band and lateral quadriceps muscle often become tight if we use our thigh muscles a lot. A excess of (or sudden increase in) squats, cycling, running, or hiking is usually what causes this imbalance. So try to build up these types of exercise slowly.
How to release tight outer thigh muscles:
1. Rub
The outer thigh muscles are easily accessible because they are not very deep. Sitting on a low chair or stool with your leg straight, relax the thigh muscles and rub the side of your thigh with your fingers at first, then later with the heel of your hand. Concentrate on the bottom half of the outer thigh, on the tender points, working right down to the side of the knee. If this is sharply painful you’re in the right area.
Work for 1 minute, once or twice a day until it ceases to cause pain. Make sure you do both legs.
2. Stretch
After the rubbing we need to stretch the thigh muscles. To do this bend your knee, and pull your foot towards the opposite buttocks cheek. If this hurts the knee, bend the knee less and contract the abdominal muscles to decrease your lower back arch. (This ‘anterior pelvic tilt’ stretches the muscles more, without the need to bend the knee so much). Hold for 20-30 seconds, twice, once a day, AND after a leg workout.
In most cases you will notice an improvement in 1-7 days. If the pain persists you may have:
- Flat feet
- Weak inner thigh muscles
- Gluteus medius weakness
In severe cases ice the knee cap, and stop sport. If it continues your pelvis made need correction by a chiropractor.
Suffering from Plantar Fasciitis? Learn how to get relieve from Plantar Fasciitis at home with simple exercises.
Stefan Becker
Sarria Quiropractica
Barcelona Chiropractor
