First Assessment
Free
45 minutes, at home
- Full clinical examination at the patient's home
- The likely cause explained in plain language
- A realistic recovery plan and what it will cost
- No obligation to book any further sessions
Few jobs are harder on knees than the ones done on foot all day, and Tilak Road has plenty of them: assistants behind a counter, teachers on a staff-room round, vendors and delivery staff. If you also cross at Hirabaug Chowk or climb to a flat in one of the older buildings, your knees take a load from the moment you get up until you sit down again.
The condition itself is described on our knee pain physiotherapy page. This page is about the knee in the context of a standing, walking day on this road, and about what a home visit can do about it.
A day on your feet, mapped onto the knee
Stand in one place and the knee stays slightly bent, the thigh muscle works quietly, and fluid collects around the joint towards evening. Walk and it bends and straightens thousands of times. Add stairs, and each step down makes the front thigh muscle control a load several times body weight. This is why knee pain is often worst at the end of a shift, and why it eases overnight and returns the next afternoon.
Typical triggers in this area include:
- standing behind a shop counter without a chance to sit;
- walking to work and back through the lanes, with kerbs at the edge of each crossing;
- the stairs of a building with no lift, with the worst moment coming on the way down;
- sitting on the floor for puja or meals, then struggling to get up.
What the physiotherapist works out at your home
The first visit is mostly questions and observation. Where is the pain: at the front, the inner side or behind the kneecap? Does the joint swell, catch or give way? How far can you walk before it stops you? The physiotherapist measures bend and straightening, checks thigh and hip strength, and watches you stand up from your own chair and take a few steps on your own staircase.
Many painful knees turn out to have weak hips and thighs as part of the problem, so strengthening those is the foundation of treatment. It is paired with work on how the knee tracks as you bend. Hands-on joint work from manual therapy can help a stiff joint move, and if a joint problem is part of a wider picture in an older person, the elderly physiotherapy page describes how balance is added to the plan.
Weight, shoes and the habits that help
- Sit when you can. A stool beside the counter lets the knee rest for a minute between customers, and several short rests help more than one long one.
- Choose footwear with a firm, cushioned sole. Thin chappals on hard floors add to the load.
- Take stairs one at a time. Lead with the stronger leg going up and the sore leg coming down, and use the rail.
- Keep walking, in measured amounts. A short daily walk in a quiet lane suits most arthritic knees better than staying off them, provided the joint feels no worse the following morning.
- Raise low seats. A cushion on a low sofa or a raised toilet seat saves the knee a deep bend several times a day.
Swelling, heat and a knee that locks
Seek medical advice soon when the knee turns hot, red and swollen with a fever, when it locks and will not straighten, or when it will not bear weight after a twist or a fall. A calf that is swollen, warm and painful, particularly after an operation or a long spell in bed, needs emergency assessment.
Book through the booking page, or see how we work across Tilak Road.