Many people who suffer from knee injuries and pain, especially runners knee or knee pain from going up or down stairs will tell you of the frustration of going to their Doctor only for them to say the X-Ray or MRI found “nothing wrong”. This is especially true if their knee pain is made worse by squatting, lunging, or just sitting down or getting up from a chair. So, why do X-rays and MRIs seem to miss finding the cause of this often frustrating condition? They’re always done without you moving. While MRIs are great at showing a torn ACL, often with this knee condition, called patellofemoral pain syndrome, at most, the MRI will say that there is a bit of swelling around the kneecap without giving a cause. This is where the 3D Moovement Scanner powered by AI, exclusively at Body Mechanix Physiotherapy, comes in. Watch the video below to see an actual scan and the 3D image that is created and how the scanner found the root cause of this person’s knee pain(hint, it wasn’t being caused by the knee).
So, in the video, you’ll see a couple of ways how our system uses AI to generate a 3d image of how you move and then what we're looking for. When we're trying to figure out exactly what is causing your pain. So in this AI generated image of the double leg squat circled where some hip weakness is starting to cause that left knee to wobble into cave in. And usually this is a clue to start looking either at the single leg squat or jump squats to start seeing if they're missing some key hip strength. So while the 3d movement scanner does not capture. Jump squats. What you'll see here in this single leg squat is you'll see that the person is compensating for hip weakness by leaning out over that hip. You'll also see in the red circle there, the knee tracking inside the big toe. And this is another key finding when we're looking at knee pain.
So, how can knee pain come from the low back, hip, or even the ankle and foot? We have several joints that require the parts of the body around them to stabilize them. Examples are our shoulders, low back, hip, and knee. The knee has tons of movement but it is at the mercy of the joints above and below for its stability(this is why doing leg extensions and hamstring curls i.e. the muscles that move the knee can’t fix knee pain). Using the single leg balance, squat, and single leg squat scan, the 3D Movement scanner shows how the hip is often not stabilizing the knee which often leads to kneecap tracking problems. When the knee bows in(similar to being knock kneed) the kneecap is pulled to the side and causes it to rub up against the bottom of the thigh bone often causing irritation, swelling, and pain. Also, people with this often suffer from a pinching sensation to the outside of the knee cap while also having a deep ache on the inside of their knee, often mistaken for a meniscus tear. In addition, the balance scan can show where the person is missing stabilization coming up from the foot and ankle often causing extra stress to the knee as well. In fact, if you wear an ankle brace you’ll often end up with knee pain as the ankle can’t do its job of protecting the knee either.
Now that we’ve found out the why of your knee pain, the next question is what can be done about it, especially if you want a natural way to treat hip pain. At Body Mechanix, our Reset-Reinforce-Reload system is designed to give you the power over your knee pain by giving you often 1 simple movement to begin easing everyday aches and pains in the hip. This is often combined with our gentle, hands-on care, manual stretching, and dry needling to give you powerful pain relief, often in the first few treatments. Next, our Reinforce Phase targets the “cracks in the foundation” that caused you to be injured in the first place. Finally(the fun part), in our Reload Phase(the most important) that is customized to getting you back to doing what you love doing without your body holding you back and often feeling years younger than your peers. Have more questions or want to see if the 3DM Movement Scan is right for you?
Reach out to us by clicking on the “call us” button, email me at drbrandon@tallahasseept.com. Want to schedule now? Book your scan here. Free for a limited time
Confused about where to start? We got you covered! That’s why we offer free consultations to help you get to the root of why you are dealing with stiffness, pain, or just not performing the way you need to.
During one of our free consultations, the Total Body Diagnostic, we offer expert advice about the worry and frustration of life-changing aches and pains – for FREE, in under 30 minutes.
If this article describes your story and you are looking for some help with overcoming hip pain, we offer FREE consultations, which give you the opportunity to come in and meet us and see for yourself how we can help you.
Here are just a few of the things you will learn in one of our free consultation:
What is the underlying cause of your pain? (hopefully nothing too serious!)
Roughly, how long will it take to fix the problem?
What to do to help – which doesn’t include painkillers, resting or surgery etc.
What other, natural, drug free methods are there to speed up recovery alongside treatment?
Our consultations are great for anyone that may be “unsure” if physio is right for them, and they give you the opportunity to ask questions and see for yourself if we can help you.
If you’d like one of our limited free consultation sessions, please click here to request your Total Body Diagnostic or CALL us on 850-765-2779 to make a no-obligation enquiry.
About the Author
Dr. Brandon Alkire, DPT, CSCS, FMS, Cert. DN, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Strength CoachDr. Brandon is the owner and a Physio at Body Mechanix Physiotherapy and Fitness. Four of his favorite people call him daddy while he's been married to his other favorite person for 20 years. He enjoys teaching martial arts and is a Mestrando in Capoeira while in the mornings, he can be found working out with the guys in F3 around town. He's the author of 4 pain relief guides for sciatica, low back, shoulder, and knees and the lead contributor to the Active Tallahassee Blog.