The bones of the knee are connected by eleven different ligaments. These ligaments are situated in different parts of the knee stabilising the bones and preventing too much movement between them. These ligaments run either side of the knee, around the knee, across, from front to back, back to front, the front and back of the knee.

When the knee gets an injury like a twist, a blow, a fall, in many cases one or more of the ligaments will be over-stretched. There may be some swelling, heat and stiffness as well as the pain. An x-ray will not usually reveal anything out of the ordinary as ligaments do not show on the x-ray. A support bandage may be useful to support the injured unstable area and help bring down the swelling. As there is heat in the area it is always advisable to use cold packs on the area for a duration of 10-12 minutes every hour over the first 3-4 days.

It is also important to try and bend and straighten the knee as best you can so as not to let the joint seize up, and keep the muscles working. This movement prevents adhesions forming and consolidating themselves. If healing is allowed to take place without adequate movement of the knee, then a chronic stage may result and the person may be out of action a lot longer.

Many people who have trouble with the knee later on in life very often will have had an old injury (maybe they have forgotten about it) in the past. During examination, I have found that the majority of these knee problems have some small misalignment.

When these are corrected or adjusted there can be good pain relief, better mobility and more strength to the troublesome knee.