OMM for knee troubles?

[Ypo.]

Hi! I've been shadowing a DO as he practices OMM, but haven't seen him do any work for knee problems yet. Some DO students I have talked to told me that there are a lot of techniques they can do for the knee-but I haven't seen any demonstrations.

Can anyone give me a few examples of how OMM can help knees? I do know that often times when the hips are twisted-it puts a secondary strain on the knee- and that fixing the hips solves the knee problems, but I was looking more for a technique that helps fix problems that originate in the knee.

Thanks! 👍

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[glorytaker]

Hi! I've been shadowing a DO as he practices OMM, but haven't seen him do any work for knee problems yet. Some DO students I have talked to told me that there are a lot of techniques they can do for the knee-but I haven't seen any demonstrations.

Can anyone give me a few examples of how OMM can help knees? I do know that often times when the hips are twisted-it puts a secondary strain on the knee- and that fixing the hips solves the knee problems, but I was looking more for a technique that helps fix problems that originate in the knee.

Thanks! 👍

Well, it depends on the problem. Mostly muscular problems can be treated with muscle energy or soft tissue techniques. I wouldn't do HVLA on a knee though. Then you have to look at the hip or the ankles because a dysfunction in the lateral malleolus can show up as pain in the fibular head. I know, it's not properly the knee joint, but patients will point to their fibular head and call it their knee. And for ligament tears... that's beyond OMM -- go to a surgeon. 🙂

 

[Idiopathic]

Can anyone give me a few examples of how OMM can help knees? I do know that often times when the hips are twisted-it puts a secondary strain on the knee- and that fixing the hips solves the knee problems, but I was looking more for a technique that helps fix problems that originate in the knee.

Thanks! 👍

Since the only problems that originat in the knee are purely structural, no OMM can fix them. Just as OMT can not fix a herniated nucleus pulposus, it cannot fix a strained MCL or torn medial meniscus. There has to be musculature present. Of course, you can do myofascial release until the cows come home on a knee... 🙄 see where that gets you.

Take home message - 90% of all garden-variety, in-your-office knee pain is muscular in origin, and fixing the accessory muscles will fix the problem (or at least help alleviate the pain).

 

[Ypo.]

Since the only problems that originat in the knee are purely structural, no OMM can fix them. Just as OMT can not fix a herniated nucleus pulposus, it cannot fix a strained MCL or torn medial meniscus. There has to be musculature present. Of course, you can do myofascial release until the cows come home on a knee... 🙄 see where that gets you.

Take home message - 90% of all garden-variety, in-your-office knee pain is muscular in origin, and fixing the accessory muscles will fix the problem (or at least help alleviate the pain).

Thank you,
that answers my question better than I could have hoped.

 

[OMMFellow06]

Since the only problems that originat in the knee are purely structural, no OMM can fix them. Just as OMT can not fix a herniated nucleus pulposus, it cannot fix a strained MCL or torn medial meniscus. There has to be musculature present. Of course, you can do myofascial release until the cows come home on a knee... 🙄 see where that gets you.

Take home message - 90% of all garden-variety, in-your-office knee pain is muscular in origin, and fixing the accessory muscles will fix the problem (or at least help alleviate the pain).

What? since it's purely structural, no OMM can fix them? You've got to be kidding me? Yes you can fix knees because a lot of what you do when you perform OMM is to correct STRUCTURE. How? Fix the fibular head because that is a common problem causing pain in the knee area, correct tibial alignment, and correct patellar bone misalignment. Of course, you're also looking for muscular causes of knee pain as well. Also, as with all lower extremity dysfunctions, you must look at a number of other factors such as posture, the hip, and the ankles.

 

[babyruth]

Soft tissue techniques works well for chronic cases (knee wobble, hamstring spread and/or traction, etc.). Strain/CounterStrain as well. And yes you can do HVLA depending on what the problem is: a post. fibular head and tibia dysfunction are fixed very well this way. As always, make sure they do not have a tear or sprain first, and even if they do soft tissue helps clear up a lot of the inflammation that is there. Please refer to OMMFellow06's post, good advice. (P.S. wait until you learn these before you try them on people... or please kids, don't try this at home.)

 

[Ypo.]

OK. Actually I'm curious because I'm having a bit of knee problems myself. It hurts my left knee when I try to put my left ankle on top of my right knee (in a half-lotus if anyone here knows ypoga). I don't think its a sprain because its been that way for a long time now, and its kind of recurrent. My solution is to not try that position anymore, but I was wondering if there was anything a DO could do with OMM to return it to its prior level of functioning. I know you guys can't diagnose over the internet, but if anyone has an idea of what this could be and has the time to post it, I would certainly appreciate it. Thanks 🙂

 

[Hernandez]

OK. Actually I'm curious because I'm having a bit of knee problems myself. It hurts my left knee when I try to put my left ankle on top of my right knee (in a half-lotus if anyone here knows ypoga).

I cant' dx this on the internet, it's something that someone would need to see, and I'm sure that there are OMM techniques that would help, in my own personal experience(my knee) myofascial helps IT band syndrome well. ME will help tight muscles and there is always the possiblity of CS tender points being present, but without hands examination there's no way to offer advice on which tx to use.