What Can I Do to Relieve My Knee Pain?

At Regenecare Pain Management Clinics we provide a wide range of protocols ranging from steroid injections to regenerative treatments.

Our Pain Management Clinics are spread across Dublin, Cork, and Cavan.

• Regenecare Pain Management Dublin  https://goo.gl/maps/grYQQjfPWitH37Ds9
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Dr. Gehad El Bastawisy is a qualified Pain Specialist Physician registered in both Ireland and the UK and has been on the Specialist Register since the year 2000. At Regenecare Clinics, Dr. Gehad provides treatments for all joint pains with emphasis on knee pain and back/neck pain.

On arrival at our clinic, Dr. Gehad will first review your scans and do a full assessment of your knee pain by performing a brief physical exam and asking you a few questions such as:

– How long have you had knee pain?

– Have you suffered any previous trauma?

– Is your pain sharp, stabbing, or dull aching?

– Does your knee feel loose or pop?

– Is your knee pain more going up or down the stairs?

Knee pain affects people of all ages and understanding the nature and cause of your knee pain will help to determine the treatment plan most suited for you. If you experience a traumatic injury or your knee is hot, red, and swollen, Dr. Gehad urges you to seek medical attention. However, for chronic knee pain that has lasted more than 3 months, causing daily discomfort, Regenecare Clinics offers non-surgical regenerative treatments so you can get back to your daily activities with ease.

Simple home exercises and stretches can help ease some common types of knee pain and are always advised before and after our treatments. With knee pain, exercise might seem like the hardest thing to do, but it is also vital to ensure that you achieve a level of knee stability that can offset future knee injuries. Using the right combination of strengthening and stretching exercises can help improve joint movement and functionality.

What conditions can exercise help?

1. Patellofemoral pain.

2. Chronic degenerative meniscal tears.

3. Osteoarthritis.

Patellofemoral pain is a condition that typically causes a dull, aching pain in the front of the knee that’s made worse by daily activities such as squatting, going up and down the stairs, or standing up after sitting for a long period. This knee pain is caused by irritation of the cartilage underneath the kneecap when it becomes misaligned due to muscle weakness. Exercise and stretching can help to correct the knee joint anatomy, resulting in less irritation. Stretches lengthen the muscles, eliminate spasticity and realign the knee joint, while exercise builds up strength to add stability. Together with regenerative treatments, you can put an end to your chronic knee pain.

Chronic degenerative meniscal tears occur when one or both pads of cartilage that cushion each of your knee joints deteriorates or tears. This results in pain and/or knee locking. Exercises and regenerative treatments such as stem cells or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are highly recommended to help build up the muscles around the knee to reduce inflammation and take pressure off the joint to offset chronic knee pain.

Osteoarthritis mostly occurs over the age of 50 and presents as knee pain, stiffness, and swelling of the knee. Years of wear and tear can break down the cartilage in the knees, leading to chronic joint inflammation and chronic knee pain. Past trauma or repetitive sports injuries may also be the leading cause of arthritis. While nothing can reverse these physical changes inside your knee, you can reduce pain using regenerative treatments, such as stem cell treatments or PRP, and by building up the muscles around the knee as well as in the pelvis and core. Strong muscles support the knee by taking some pressure off the joints. Stretching to increase flexibility can help the joint function properly. 

Many conditions that cause knee pain are eased to some extent by exercise. However, in some cases, it is not enough or may not be appropriate. We recommend that you seek the advice of Dr. Gehad El Bastawisy as a pain management specialist and regenerative medicine expert if you have any of the following symptoms:

•  Pain that is not improving with exercise. 
• Pain that intensifies with activity.
• Pain that wakes you up in the middle of the night. 

At Regenecare, we provide comprehensive therapies based mainly on regenerative treatments, an innovative line of medicine that uses the body’s own ability to repair and regenerate damaged tissues, thereby avoiding the use of long-term medications that can affect other organs of the body, such as the kidneys. We aim to reduce chronic knee pain and avoid the need for knee surgery. Physiotherapy is a fundamental part of all our regenerative treatments. It heavily contributes to the success of our treatments and the satisfaction of our patients.

What Exercises Can I Try for Knee Pain?

Two exercises to add to your routine are the side-leg rise and the single-leg lift. 

Do this workout daily for a period of 3 months. If you are struggling to achieve this, exercise at least three days a week for 6 months to achieve the desired level of comfort. 

Daily Exercise Plan:

Two sessions daily.

During each session, perform the following:

–        5 reps of side-leg rise, per leg 

–        5 reps of single-leg lift, per leg

–        Repeat the above in the second session

* Aim to achieve this minimum amount of reps, but if you are experiencing extreme discomfort, perform as much as you can tolerate over a longer period of time.

Please note that the more repetitions you can do, the faster you will achieve results. The above plan should be considered the minimum and if possible, should be intensified (eg. 3 sessions daily/10 reps per leg).