AT LAGRANGE CHIROPRACTIC REHABILITATION AND SPORTS MEDICINE, WE TREAT THOUSANDS OF OLDHAM COUNTY RESIDENTS FOR KNEE PAIN. WHETHER YOUR PAIN COMES FROM A WORK-RELATED INJURY, SPORTS INJURY OR MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT, DR PETRUCCI AND DR MEADOWS TAKES YOUR KNEE INJURY VERY SERIOUSLY.
The amount of pressure that is applied to the knee joint, whether from your job, playing sports, or just walking around, makes it one of the most vulnerable areas of your body.
What Causes Knee Injury?
The knee is a complex joint reliant on tendons, cartilage, muscles, and ligaments to work properly. Damage to any one of these structures can cause excruciating pain and the loss of the ability to walk. The damage to one structure in the knee will often affect the others as it attempts to compensate for the injury.
Diagnosis
Since there are so many different forms of a knee injury, Dr. Petrucci & Dr. Meadows will do a thorough exam of the knee in order to determine the cause for your pain. This will include an orthopedic examination, X-Ray, and possible MRI.
Treatment
Your treatment will vary depending on the cause of your knee injury, but will most likely be focused on reducing swelling to allow the structures a free range of movement again. Dr. Petrucci & Dr. Meadows and his team may apply one of the following therapies in order to make your knee functional again:
Knee Traction Therapy
Specifically designed to treat chronic knee pain, our knee traction system offers a revolutionary solution for those that live with recurring knee pain. The knee traction system is a non-invasive knee pain therapy that offers a revolutionary solution for those who live with chronic knee pain.
Knee traction isolates the knee and offers safe and effective mechanical traction to decrease pain by:
- Decreasing Inflammation
- Allowing re-hydration
- Increasing range of motion
- Speeding up the healing process
Knee Traction Benefits Those Suffering With:
- Chronic Knee Pain
- Osteoarthritis
- ACL Injuries
- Meniscus Tears
- Failed Surgery
- Sub-acute Muscle Strain
- Chronic Muscle Strain
- Previous Injury
Class 4 Deep Tissue Laser Therapy
Laser therapy is a non-invasive technique to help reduce pain and inflammation. Laser therapy can be safely used as an adjunct or replacement for pharmaceutical“every one here is excellent.”– Crystal T.drugs. This pain relief treatment is FDA cleared and enables patients to have an alternative to drugs and surgery.
Laser therapy treatments last between 5 and 10 minutes depending on the condition being treated. Laser therapy treatments must be administered directly to skin, as laser light cannot penetrate through layers of clothing. You will feel a soothing warmth as the therapy is administered.
Benefits of Laser Pain Therapy
1.) Anti-Inflammation: Laser therapy has an anti-edema effect as it causes vasodilatation, but also because it activates the lymphatic drainage system (drains swollen areas). As a result, there is a reduction in swelling caused by bruising or inflammation.
2.) Anti-Pain (Analgesic): Laser therapy has a high beneficial effect on nerve cells which blocks pain transmitted by these cells to the brain and which decreases nerve sensitivity. Also, due to less inflammation, there is less edema and less pain. Another pain blocking mechanism involves the production of high levels of pain killing chemicals such as endorphins and encephalin from the brain and adrenal gland.
3.) Accelerated Tissue Repair and Cell Growth: Photons of light from lasers penetrate deeply into tissue and accelerate cellular reproduction and growth. The laser light increases the energy available to the cell so that the cell can take on nutrients faster and get rid of waste products. As a result of exposure to laser light, the cells of tendons, ligaments and muscles are repaired faster.
4.) Improved Vascular Activity: Laser light will significantly increase the formation of new capillaries in damaged tissue that speeds up the healing process, closes wounds quickly, and reduces scar tissue. Additional benefits include acceleration of angiogenesis, which causes temporary vasodilatation, an increase in the diameter of blood vessels.
5.) Increases Metabolic Activity: Laser therapy creates higher outputs of specific enzymes, greater oxygen and food particle loads for blood cells.
6.) Trigger points and Acupuncture Points: Laser therapy stimulates muscle trigger points and acupuncture points on a non-invasive basis providing musculoskeletal pain relief.
7.) Reduced Fibrous Tissue Formation: Laser therapy reduces the formation of scar tissue following tissue damage from cuts, scratches, burns or surgery.
8.) Improved Nerve Function: Slow recovery of nerve functions in damaged tissue can result in numbness and impaired limbs. Laser light will speed up the process of nerve cell reconnection and increase the amplitude of action potentials to optimize muscle action.
9.) Immunoregulation: Laser light has a direct effect on immunity status by stimulation of immunoglobines and lymphocytes. Laser therapy is absorbed by chromophores (molecule enzymes) that react to laser light. The enzyme flavomono-nucleotide is activated and starts the production of ATP (adenosine-triphosphate), which is the major carrier of cell energy and the energy source for all chemical reactions in the cells. 10.) Faster Wound Healing: Laser light stimulates fibroblast development (fibroblasts are the building blocks of collagen, which is predominant in wound healing) in damaged tissue. Collagen is the essential protein required to replace old tissue or to repair tissue injuries. As a result, laser therapy is effective on open wounds and burns.
Mechanical Motion Therapy
Mechanical Motion Therapy can have a powerful, pain relieving effect on the tissues containing the specialized receptors, even in instances where it has been present for years. MMT affects the sensation of pain by altering the patient’s pain threshold. In other words, it decreases the negative effect of these pain receptors while gaining increased motion and flexibility as a result.
Our doctors are extensively trained in performing this revolutionary physical medicine technique that may help relieve pain and discomfort, quickly and painlessly.
MMT allows our doctors to determine the exact cause of your pain and discomfort in the leg or knee, whether it’s muscles, tendons, nerve or structural damage.
These conditions can be caused by a number of different things, including accidents, sports injuries, work-related or hereditary.
By pinpointing the exact cause of knee pain, Our MMT-certified doctors can then begin a treatment technique that involves computerized adjustment technology and movement protocols. This treatment technique is painless and may provide noticeable relief after the first treatment.
Treatments last 15-20 minutes, and as they continue, patients may no longer find a need for pain medications or injection.
When dealing with a knee injury, Dr. Petrucci & Dr. Meadows takes a whole body approach and may also talk to you about lifestyle changes if you present certain risk factors. Our rehab center has seen knee injuries of all different types and of varying degrees of severity. Call our office at (502) 222-0000 today..