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Lower Limb Sports Injuries Physio Penrith

Lower Limb Sports Injuries Treated at Sydney Muscle & Joint Clinic Physio Penrith

Lower limb sports injuries cover hip FAI impingements, ITB syndome, quadricep muscle strain, hamstring muscle strain, runners knee (patellofemoral pain syndrome), ACL knee injury, knee ligament injury, calf muscle strain, ankle sprains and Achilles tendinopathy. Our physiotherapists and exercise physiologists at Sydney Muscle & Joint Clinic Penrith use guideline-based assessment, interventions and protocols to ensure you get the very best in treatments for your sports injury. We use phases of rehabilitation, specific criteria to progress through each phase and ensure that appropriate loading techniques are applied as soon as possible.

ITB Syndrome

Iliotibial band (ITB) syndrome is a common knee injury in runners and other long distance athletes caused by inflammation of the distal portion of the iliotibial band (ITB), which results in lateral knee pain or pain on the outside of the knee joint. ​Most people still think of the IT band as being free to move relative to the femur creating friction at the knee, but the iliotibial band is not free to move relative to the femur. It is anchored to the femur bone between the big muscles of the front and back; it clings to it like a barnacle to a rock, this is why it has been suggested that “the ITB cannot actually create frictional forces by moving forwards and backwards over the epicondyle during flexion and extension of the knee". In actually fact, the IT band has been described as a big tendon and therefore interventions that are proven to work for tendon injuries need to be applied to those individuals with ITB syndrome. Read more.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (anterior knee pain)

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common painful knee presentation at Sydney Muscle & Joint Physio Penrith and can also be referred to as runners knee, patellofemoral joint syndrome, patellofemoral pain (PFP), and anterior (front) knee pain. Common symptoms of patellofemoral pain syndrome include pain to be experienced in a diffuse manner at the front, inside and/or outside of the knee joint, as well as around the knee cap- the knee pain is very hard to localise. These symptoms are exacerbated during patellofemoral joint loading activities; eg, squatting, climbing or descending stairs and running or when sitting with the knee bent for a long time (movie sign).

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Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a very common complaint and accounts for 25-40% of knee problems that a physiotherapist will manage. Patellofemoral pain will not get better on its own and resting or stretching is often not helpful and can often make the presentation worse when returning to activity. Research shows that up 91% of people still had this problem 20 years after it started (it lasts a long time). Read more.

Knee ligament injury - medial and/or lateral collateral ligament

Medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury is a common cause of medial knee pain and is a commonly injured ligament, often injured in combination with the ACL ligament and medial meniscus. A tear in the MCL ligament is also known as an MCL strain and is associated with some delayed swelling (6-24hrs), pain on valgus force and pain when bending the knee.

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The MCL is injured through contact and non-contact forces. If there is enough force, this will result in the ligament stretching and tearing. Non-contact injuries can also occur, particularly when there are large forces going through the knee resulting in over-stretching and tearing.

 

The symptoms will depend on which grade of injury has occurred:

  • Grade 1 – some pain on the inside of the knee but generally no swelling. There is no instability of the knee.

  • Grade 2 – Much pain on the inside of the knee with some swelling. There will be some instability of the knee.

  • Grade 3 – Much pain on the inside of the knee with large swelling. Gross instability of the knee will be found.

Knee ligament injury - medial and/or lateral collateral ligament

Medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury is a common cause of medial knee pain and is a commonly injured ligament, often injured in combination with the ACL ligament and medial meniscus. A tear in the MCL ligament is also known as an MCL strain and is associated with some delayed swelling (6-24hrs), pain on valgus force and pain when bending the knee.

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The MCL is injured through contact and non-contact forces. If there is enough force, this will result in the ligament stretching and tearing. Non-contact injuries can also occur, particularly when there are large forces going through the knee resulting in over-stretching and tearing.

 

The symptoms will depend on which grade of injury has occurred:

  • Grade 1 – some pain on the inside of the knee but generally no swelling. There is no instability of the knee.

  • Grade 2 – Much pain on the inside of the knee with some swelling. There will be some instability of the knee.

  • Grade 3 – Much pain on the inside of the knee with large swelling. Gross instability of the knee will be found.

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