Where does the pain come from with regard to the KNEE? Does it originate in the meniscus? NO! Does it originate in the ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament) or PCL (Posterior Cruciate ligament)? NO? Then it must originate from the medial or lateral longitudinal ligaments. NOPE. How about “Bone on Bone”? Oops… not a chance! None of the aforementioned structures have any pain nerve endings in them to elicit knee pain or discomfort. They just can’t do it.
So, where does the pain come from then? It originates in the tendons surrounding the knee which makes it feel like it is in the knee. The quadriceps, hamstring, iliotibial band, and gastrocnemius tendons all insert or originate surrounding the knee. These are the stabilization mechanisms of the knee and they are under stress due to instability – thus the pain.
In addition, the body protects you by creating: swelling in the joint, edema surrounding the joint, muscle guarding minimizing movement of the joint, and lastly, pain to protect you from further injury! These are all protective guarding mechanisms, not malicious manifestations.
In order to heal the knees, we need to reduce inflammation (edema and swelling) and increase stability through proper muscular strength. Whereas it is a relatively simple process, it takes time and repetition to train the body to recognize the new pattern of stabilization (old habits die hard). This is what we accomplish in our Knee Rejuvenation Program!