What’s Behind Your Knee Pain?

Why Do My Knees Hurt?

Your knee joint forms at the point where your thigh bone, shin bone, and kneecap meet, allowing the knee to bend and straighten while also accommodating smaller rotational and gliding movements. Cartilage helps these surfaces move smoothly, while ligaments provide stability. Muscles and tendons help control the forces placed on your knee as you move throughout your day.

If any of these tissues become injured or irritated, pain can develop. Sometimes this happens when they’re placed under more stress than they can currently tolerate. Other times, there’s a clear injury or underlying condition leading to your discomfort. Your specific treatment plan will depend on your condition, activity demands, and the factors causing your specific symptoms.

Common Causes of Knee Pain We See at Suburban Physical Therapy

Osteoarthritis

If you’re an older adult, osteoarthritis might be your first thought when you experience knee pain. OA is a condition that causes changes in the cartilage and other tissues of the knee joint, leading to pain, stiffness, and swelling. While there’s no cure, staying active is generally an important part of managing symptoms.

Ligament Injuries

Ligament injuries, such as an ACL tear, are often the first knee injury athletes think of. These injuries usually result from sudden changes in direction, awkward landings, contact injuries, or falls. However, they don’t necessarily always require surgery. Less severe knee ligament injuries often respond well to physical therapy.

Patellofemoral Pain

This condition (sometimes known as runner’s knee) involves irritation of the tissues around or behind the kneecap, usually resulting from increased training demands, poor movement control, or weakness in the surrounding muscles. You’ll often notice pain when squatting, running, climbing stairs, or sitting for long periods.

Meniscus Injuries

The menisci are pads of cartilage that help distribute forces through the knee. In active people, they can be injured during twisting movements, although age-related degeneration can also play a role. Symptoms may include swelling, catching, or difficulty fully moving the knee.

Tendon Problems

Repeated jumping, running, or rapid increases in activity can contribute to tendon-related pain around the knee, leading to injuries such as jumper’s knee.

A Problem Elsewhere in the Body

Sometimes, knee pain does not start in the knee itself. Your body is interconnected, and weakness or biomechanical issues in the hip or lower back can sometimes refer pain down to the knee. A physical therapy assessment can help identify patterns and factors that may be contributing to your symptoms.

How Physical Therapy Can Help You Move With Greater Confidence

At Suburban Physical Therapy, we always start by learning what factors are limiting you. We do this through a detailed assessment that looks at strength, mobility, balance, walking, and movements related to your daily activities or sport.

From there, treatment can be adjusted to your specific needs and goals. We pull from several techniques, including:

• Hands-on manual therapy techniques to provide short-term symptom relief when appropriate.
• Progressive strengthening to build strength around the knee, hip, and lower leg.
• Mobility exercises to improve or maintain knee movement when stiffness limits function.
• Balance and movement training to improve control during walking, stairs, running, or other activities.
• Strategies to help you modify activities while gradually building your tolerance for movement.
• Tips on how to manage symptoms, adjust activity levels, and support progress between visits.

How Does the AlterG Help You Move More Comfortably?

The AlterG anti-gravity treadmill uses NASA-inspired differential air-pressure technology to reduce the amount of body weight you feel while walking or running.

Before stepping onto the treadmill, you put on specialized compression shorts. These shorts zip into an air chamber that surrounds the lower half of your body. After the system calibrates to your body, the chamber fills with air and gently supports you from below. Your clinician can then adjust the amount of weight placed through your legs. Speed, incline, and body-weight support can be changed throughout the session.

This controlled support allows you to walk or run with less impact while maintaining a more natural, upright movement pattern. As your strength, comfort, and control improve, your rehabilitation plan will gradually progress toward greater weight bearing.

Discover What’s Possible With Less Joint Stress

The AlterG can help remove some of the barriers that make movement challenging. Reducing the load placed on your lower body allows you to exercise with greater comfort and confidence.

Depending on your needs, potential benefits may include:

• Practicing a more natural walking or running pattern
• Reducing stress on painful joints and healing tissues
• Beginning weight-bearing activity at an appropriate stage of recovery
• Improving lower-body strength and endurance
• Building balance and movement confidence
• Maintaining cardiovascular fitness during rehabilitation
• Progressing safely toward daily, recreational, or athletic activities
• Supporting a gradual return to full-body-weight exercise

Our team will determine the appropriate level of support based on your medical history, current precautions, movement quality, and goals.

When Do We Recommend the AlterG?

Suburban Physical Therapy’s anti-gravity treadmill can support a wide range of patients, from individuals relearning how to walk confidently to athletes preparing to return to training. We often incorporate it into treatment plans for:

• Recovery following lower-extremity surgery
• Hip, knee, ankle, or foot injuries
• Osteoarthritis and other joint-related conditions
• Stress fractures and overuse injuries
• Walking and balance difficulties
• Neurological conditions that affect mobility
• General weakness or reduced endurance
• Return-to-running rehabilitation
• Athletic conditioning with reduced impact

Build Confidence One Step at a Time

Recovery is not about rushing through the process but about finding the right amount of challenge so your body can adapt, your movement can improve, and your confidence can grow. The AlterG gives your rehabilitation team another way to personalize that challenge.

Whether you want to walk with greater ease, rebuild your endurance, or work toward returning to your sport, Suburban Physical Therapy is ready to help you find a clear path forward. Contact us today to schedule an evaluation and discover whether anti-gravity treadmill training is right for your recovery plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I wear for an AlterG session?

Wear comfortable athletic clothing and supportive walking or running shoes. You will also use specialized compression shorts that connect to the equipment. Our team can explain sizing and preparation before your appointment.

Will I be supervised while using the treadmill?

Yes. A trained team member will help you enter and exit the equipment, set up the system, and monitor your response. Please communicate any unusual symptoms or concerns during your session.

Can the AlterG be used for fitness if I am not injured?

It may be used for reduced-impact conditioning when clinically appropriate. An evaluation can help determine whether it fits your fitness level, training goals, and overall health. It may also be appropriate for runners or athletes looking to maintain conditioning while temporarily reducing the impact on their joints.