When one suffer from knee pain, especially if the pain came about not due to any sprain or traumatic event, but developed gradually, many times the exact painful structure or the cause of knee pain may not be clearly identified. That is why many people who has knee pain with some activities can’t seem to get rid of it.

Clinically we have observed that various factors could lead to knee pain, but the key message here is: Don’t just be concerned about the knee alone. The knee structures are usually victims of abnormal function from the hip above or from the foot below.

Studies have shown that majority of patients with knee pain also has weakness in their hip muscles and core control. This will lead to abnormal balancing and movement strategies been adopted, and over-stressing certain parts of the knee.

As general guide to prevent knee pain, take the following advice:

  • Stand or sit with pelvis in level position (the tail bone points down, in line with overall trunk posture), keep your knees slightly away from each other)
  • Strengthen your buttock and lower abdomen muscles
  • Reduce duration of wearing high-heel shoes
  • Stretch your hamstring and buttock muscles regularly
  • Run with proper footwear
  • When running, knees should not rub against each other
  • When reaching for a low object, bend more from your hips instead of your knees, allow the chest to fall down instead of trying to maintain upright.
  • Adopt proper lifting method as shown in pictures below
Lifting Technique

 If you are already experiencing knee pain, then need to see a physiotherapist to find out where exactly is producing the pain and how best to treat it. If the issue is mainly muscle imbalance in strength and flexibility then manual muscle releases stretches and specific strengthening will be useful to restore the balance. There are also cases when specific structure in the knee is injured, e.g. meniscus tear, ligament tear. Such problem may require more investigation and treatment by doctor besides seeing a physiotherapist.