Yes, a lot of knee pain may not be caused by your knee itself. A significant proportion of arthritic hips actually refer pain to the knee area on the same side.Quite a lot of back problems especially the sacroiliac joint (the joint between the spine and your pelvis) will cause groin, thigh or knee pain. We, as qualified registered Osteopaths, are able to tell you what is causing the pain, or able to refer you to the right specialist via your GP.
The knee is essentially a balancing act of the thigh bone (femur ) sitting on top of 2 leg bones (the tibia and fibula) supported by ligaments and muscles. If you strain the ligaments, with a twist or fall, the knee becomes unstable, causing further problems with your gait. Deeper injury or degeneration can cause damage to the cartilage/meniscus (these are the shock absorbers of the knee). When this happens you will usually need either a scan or an arthroscopy (a probe into the knee under a surgeon) but again the Osteopath will be able to advise on this.
Most of the strains and sprains, problems with ligaments and muscle imbalance can be dealt with by Osteopathic treatment. This will involve looking at the underlying causes which can be postural or due to a leg length issue or previous injury, perhaps to foot or ankle that has not been addressed before. We use massage and stretching, manipulation of some of the joints if they are not moving properly and extensive advice on exercises and how to manage the problem.
Many sporting injuries to the knee will have their origin in poor technique or in an unresolved earlier injury, the Osteopath is ideally trained and suited to diagnosing and treating these problems.