Knee Pain Physiotherapy at Home in Sadashiv Peth, Pune

Few neighbourhoods ask as much of the knees as the old peths. Sadashiv Peth has many temples, and a visit often means a flight of steps, a shoe stand to bend towards and a spell sitting on the floor. At home there may be a steep wooden or stone staircase, and the day often includes a trip up and down it carrying something.

Our knee pain physiotherapy guide explains the common causes. Here we look at the knee in a peth routine: which movements hurt, and how a physiotherapist who comes to your house can change them.

Stairs, steps and the floor: where the knee pays

• The home staircase. Going down loads the knee more than going up, and a steep or uneven flight with a shallow tread makes it worse. A walk-up of two or three floors can mean several trips a day.
• Temple steps and prayer. Climbing steps and kneeling or sitting cross-legged to pray bend the knee a long way, which is exactly what a stiff or arthritic joint resists.
• Low seats. A low toilet seat, a floor mat at mealtimes or a low bed means a deep bend and a hard push up, several times a day.
• Short walks that add up. Daily walks to the market and back over uneven lane surfaces keep the joint busy, which is good when it is strong and tiring when it is not.

None of this means giving up the temple or the stairs. It means working out which step or posture triggers the pain and how to approach it differently.

What the physiotherapist looks at in your house

The first visit covers the history, the swelling and warmth of the joint, how far it bends and straightens, and the strength of the thigh and hip muscles that control it. Then comes the part that only works at home: watching you go down your own staircase, rise from your own bed and, if relevant, lower yourself onto the prayer mat.

Treatment generally combines exercises for the thigh and hip, hands-on work to ease a stiff joint, and a plan for the daily tasks that irritate it. Where pain stops you from exercising, a short course of TENS may be used so that you can move. Often the knee is not the whole story: weak hips and tight calves can show up as knee pain, so we usually check them too. If both knees are worn and you are an older adult, the broader approach on our page on elderly physiotherapy in Sadashiv Peth may also apply.

Looking after the knee between visits

• On stairs, lead with the stronger leg going up and the weaker leg going down, use the rail, and take a rest at a landing rather than pushing through.
• Keep a firm chair or a low stool near the prayer space, so that you can sit on something instead of lowering yourself to the floor each time. Ask us before you stop prayer practice altogether, because often a small adjustment is enough.
• Walk on flatter lanes in the early weeks, and shorten the route if the knee swells afterwards.
• Do the strengthening exercises regularly. Resting the joint completely makes it stiffer and weaker.

Swelling that settles overnight is usually less worrying than swelling that grows, and your physiotherapist will help you tell them apart.

Knee pain that needs a doctor first

A hot, red and swollen joint with fever, a knee that locks or gives way suddenly, an inability to bear weight after a fall, or a calf that is painful and swollen should be seen by a doctor before physiotherapy continues.

When you are ready, book a visit. You can also read how home physiotherapy in Sadashiv Peth is arranged, or look at knee pain physiotherapy in Narayan Peth if that is closer to your lane.