Your knee is your hip and your hip is your knee… it is joined by a big bone!

As we are entering spring, more of us are getting outside to enjoy some sun and take up those summer activities, tennis being one of them. So what does this mean for our hibernating bodies and how can your knee become a victim of your new interest?

The knee can be your best friend, but it can also take a ‘beating’ in games like tennis.

The primary purpose of the knee and its surrounding tissues is to absorb shock and propel us in movement. It is mostly known for its ability to flex and extend and allowing us to twist and turn.

To help you understand why the knee takes a beating, I would like to explain why and how you can give your knees a better start to the summer.

“The Knee is caught in the middle with few places to go and no place to hide”

What does this mean?

As we walk, run, jump or bounce, the foot reacts as it makes contact to the ground.  This pretty quickly feeds the information to the knee.  The knee will then go through an appropriate movement depending on what stage you are in gait: it will react to most of what the foot does.

Sounds easy enough, but what happens if you are the knee and your foot or your hip (or both) does not load or move properly?  Your knee may struggle to cope with the different movement above and below and this may be the start of your knee symptoms or dysfunction.

So what do we advise?

Great foot and hip motion is going to give the knee the best opportunity to work in all of its planes of motion and will facilitate the reaction of the proprioceptors, (information messenger’s found in joints, muscles and joints) and muscles.

We want to create an environment for the knee where the knee can twist, turn, bend, straighten at speed and adjust to different environments such as different terrain.

Does this sound familiar when playing a game of tennis?

By doing a simple matrix (an exercise to brilliantly allow the integration of the hip, knee and foot ) you will be providing a successful chain of movement which will help to provide stability for the knee and improve overall muscle control. See the videos below on how to do these.

Blog post by Annie Fonfe

Hypermobility and the Gut

Hypermobility Syndrome and Gut Problems

A few years ago, one of our osteopaths Annie Fonfé did her final year dissertation on ‘Hypermobility Syndrome and Bruxism’ (teeth grinding or clenching).  One of her questions she asked the patients was ‘did they or had they ever suffered with stomach problems or been diagnosed with IBS’.  She found that a significant portion of hypermobile patients did indeed suffer with stomach concerns of some description.

A recent study lead by Professor Aziz (Professor of Neurogastroenterology at Queen Mary Hospital of London) found that patients with hypermobility syndrome/disorder often suffer chronic abdominal pain and a range of gut symptoms.  They are frequently misdiagnosed, undiagnosed or wrongly diagnosed and have poor quality of life said Professor Aziz.  He went on to say that this observation allows us to provide a better explanation of symptoms to our patients and tailor our treatments more effectively.

Hypermobility syndrome is a major problem and it is often undiagnosed and so the patients are mismanaged.  Hypermobility can be helped to a greater extent if clinicians are aware of the bigger picture it can present with.  If it was understood to a more fully, patients could be more empowered to create strategies for self help as well as directed help towards the correct therapists.