Knee alignment is more important than you think.

Knee pain has negative impacts you might not have thought about.

Knee problems can lead to major health problems for a person. Not just in terms of pain (that would be enough, thank you very much), but the limitations of activities that have the most negative effect on the body. Lack of activity eventually leads to deconditioning, depression, possible weight gain and increased degeneration. As we go down this path, almost every organ system is challenged. Heart, lungs, colon, bone density… nothing gets better with inactivity.

Happy Knees, Happy Life

I ran marathons in college and continued to run on asphalt for several years after college. In my later years, I began to suffer from unhappy knees. It was a drag to say the least. I found myself suffering from knee and leg pain, therefore was unable to continue my very busy lifestyle.

I find it frustrating to have limitations of activities and pain with work and daily tasks. I found that if I keep my tibias aligned I am much happier, because my knees are happy. I can work all day, which keeps me busy and gives me the sense of satisfaction that I crave in order to feel like a useful member of society. My activities aren’t limited, so I can do “stuff” rather than sitting by watching others do it for me. I can remain independent, which makes me very happy overall.

If you have pain in your knees, you probably have a displaced tibia. Additionally, if you have heard these words to describe your knee(s):

• meniscus
• cruciate
• collateral
• osteoarthritis
• patellofemoral syndrome
• chondromalacia
• osteochondritis
• dessicans
• patellar tracking problems

then you probably have a displaced tibia. If you have pain in your legs, then you may have a displaced tibia.

Unfortunately, those in the orthopedic/physical therapy profession do not line the tibia up with femur post injury. I have been in practice for 33+ years, however I find no one with misaligned tibias that have a history of care with any of our professions. I know why it is not occurring: it is not taught. Aligning the tibia is not being taught. I have the textbooks, been to the seminars and have colleagues that teach. I cannot find any evidence that they are teaching this information.

Luckily it isn’t difficult to adjust a knee. In fact, with the proper knowledge it only takes a few minutes to adjust your knees. My book, Got Knee pain? Where is your Tibia? goes through the process of lining up your own knees. I go over in detail how to find where your tibia is relative to your femur. We want them lined up. The best weight bearing happens when the tibia is squarely under the femur in the neutral, standing position.

First, determine the type of misalignment. Then, you will initiate the self aligning maneuvers you need to get your tibia lined up.

You, the knee pain sufferer, have the most motivation to get these two bones lined up. And you are the most convenient person to intervene, your knees are always with you. A few minutes is all it takes to maintain your mobility and live a pain free life.