5 Steps to diagnose a knee injury
There are many types of knee injuries, seeing a physiotherapist can help identify and treat the injury, here are five simple steps that a physiotherapist may take to determine if your suffering from osteoporosis or a knee injury. No matter whether or you’re out running or sat at a desk you are at risk of suffering a knee injury, around one in three adults over the age of 40 experience knee discomfort at some point and around 70,000 knee replacement surgeries take place each in the UK.
- Your Medical History
A physiotherapist will begin by asking you questions about your medical history; this will be able to determine if the injury is acute or chronic and will understand the severity of your pain and how long you’ve been experiencing the pain.
- Physical Exam
After discovering your medical history, a physiotherapist will then conduct a physical exam, to determine the exact areas you are experiencing the pain. They will focus on different pressure point of the knee and determine whether the pain is being caused from a bone or ligament.
- X-Ray
In case the physiotherapist is uncertain after the physical exam, they will recommend an x-ray, through this the therapist will be able to determine if the knee injury has been caused by a bone problem such as a fracture.
- MRI
An x-ray won’t show problem in body tissue such as muscle and ligaments, so therefore an MRI is recommended. The use of magnetic energy to study the areas around the injury will show the reason for your pain.
- Ultrasound
A popular method to diagnose knee injuries is through the use of an ultrasound, which inspects the bursa, the fluid-filled cavity inside the knee. If there is any substantial collection or muscles tears an ultrasound will be able to identify the problem or any additional fluid around the knee.
