Introduction to biomechanics


Biomechanical Knee Pain?

I had an email last week from a relatively
new runner asking who they should see forHow? Your feet affect your postural control.
their knee pain. I asked if they twisted,Postural control is the ability to maintain
fell, or jammed their knee or if it was justthe body's center of mass over the supportive
a wear and tear injury? They confided that asfoot, a.k.a. being able to keep your balance.
they increased their mileage and distance,Often, balance or proprioception is lost in
their knee pain started to increase. Newpatients with chronic foot and ankle
shoes helped, but didn't fix their nagginginstability from an underlying congenital
pain. Sounds like a biomechanical problem tofoot type. This leads to lack of postural
me! But it could still be a traumatic injurycontrol which leads to knee, hip and back
they can't remember...especially if they werepain a.k.a. postural symptoms. Many studies
out dancing on tables on a Friday night ...have concluded that a functional orthotic
Just  kidding!reduces postural sway and improves stability,
therefore reduces further injury in patients
Seriously, mechanically induced knee pain iswith congenital or acquired foot and ankle
extremely common in runners. A good analogyinstability.
is that if you need a tire realignment on
your car, the struts can wear out. In fact,How is biomechanical knee pain treated? A
you may have no acute foot and ankle problemscomplete biomechancial exam can help to
at all and they can still be the cause ofassess how to realign your feet and lower
your  symptoms.extremities. Functional orthotics can be made
to precisely fix your foot deformities and
The best way to assess a runner's kneefunctional  abnormalities.
problem is to start with a sports medicine
orthopedist who can rule-out a primary kneeBottom line, if your knee pain is chronic and
problem, like a tear in the meniscusyou have ruled out a primary knee problem,
(cartilage), ligaments or tendons. If alook to your support structures known as your
primary knee problem is ruled-out, but youfeet.
just keep having this nagging pain; or if
your tendonitis keeps recurring in spite ofPain slowing down your run? Dr Marybeth Crane
being compliant with physical therapy andis a board certified foot and ankle surgeon
rest; it's time to look elsewhere for theand a veteran marathon running podiatrist.
cause.For a copy of her FREE BOOK or more
information on running injuries, she can be
Your feet affect the function of all theirreached at her website or peruse her musing
contiguous structures or in English,on her blog! She also offer doctor-approved
everything they are connected to. Yes, yourfoot care products for your health!
feet  can  even  cause  back  and  neck pain!



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