Chiropractor for Hip and Knee Pain in Perth

What hip and knee pain feels like

Common complaints include:

• Pain on the outside of the hip, especially lying on that side
• Groin pain or stiffness getting in and out of the car
• Knee pain on stairs, squatting or getting up from a chair
• Stiffness first thing in the morning or after sitting
• Pain during or after running, walking or golf
• Hip or buttock pain that links to the lower back
• Struggling to put your socks and shoes on, or cross your legs
• Finding it hard to kneel in the garden or get down on the floor with the grandkids
• Lying awake because the outside of your hip aches when you lie on it
• A knee that swells, clicks or gives way on uneven ground

Why it happens

Hip and knee pain often has more than one contributor:

• Tight hips from sitting at a desk all day
• Flat or collapsed arches letting the knees roll inwards
• An old sports injury or knee surgery from years ago that changed the way you walk
• Long hours sitting, which can stiffen the hips and weaken the glutes
• Wear-and-tear (osteoarthritis) that comes with age
• Irritated tendons around the hip or knee
• Running, sport or a sudden jump in activity
• Foot mechanics and footwear
• Pain referred from the lower back

The different names hip and knee pain go by

If you've been given a diagnosis, it may be one of these. Here's what each means:

• Hip osteoarthritis: wear-and-tear changes in the hip joint, often felt as groin pain and stiffness.
• Gluteal tendinopathy (trochanteric bursitis): pain on the outside of the hip, often worse lying on that side or climbing stairs.
• Hip flexor strain: pain at the front of the hip, often from sport or long hours sitting.
• Knee osteoarthritis: wear-and-tear changes in the knee, often stiff after rest.
• Patellofemoral pain (runner's knee): pain around or behind the kneecap, worse on stairs, squatting or after sitting.
• ITB syndrome: pain on the outside of the knee, common in runners and cyclists.
• Referred pain from the lower back: hip or knee pain that's actually coming from the lower back.

The real cost: you

The real cost of bad knees and hips is ageing.

Whatever someone's age, the first thing I see when hips or knees start to go is the shuffle. And when people start to shuffle, they lose confidence. They can't turn on a 20-cent coin anymore. They lose that sense of knowing exactly where their feet are. They trip. Some fall. And each time, they get a little less confident, and move a little less.

In my clinical experience, bad knees and hips age people faster than almost anything else. Walking well, and using your knees and hips properly, is fundamental to life.

Don't let a shuffle become your new normal. Get it looked at, and get back to living fully. Live alive. Live you.

A note from Geoff

I know what a bad knee does to you. At 18, I had a full right knee reconstruction: ACL, MCL and PCL, plus a medial meniscus trim. I went from being a sprinter to watching my quads waste away after part of my patella tendon was taken for the repair. My knee got its strength back, but it's never worked quite right again.

So when I look at a knee or a hip, I don't just look where it hurts. That's not enough, and it won't give you answers. I look at the arches of your feet, the hip joints, your muscle strength, and on X-rays, how much twist there is in your pelvis.

Then we work as a team. I work on your alignment and how your joints move, and our massage therapists, Michelle and Chikako, work on muscle length and deep soft tissue tightness. Together, with specific exercises, we work on how you move. That's the Vitality Method.

Try this right now

Stand next to a bench for safety and balance on one leg for 30 seconds. Then the other. Is one side wobblier? Now sit down on a chair and stand up without using your hands. Does one hip or knee complain more?

Wobble, wince or push off with your hands? Each one tells us something about how you move.

How we assess hip and knee pain

We take a full history, including old injuries and surgery. Then we look at how you walk, squat and balance, check the arches of your feet, and test the movement and strength of your hips, knees, pelvis and lower back.

Where clinically required, X-rays show us how your pelvis and hips are sitting. We also screen for anything that needs a GP, imaging or a specialist, and refer you if that's the right step.

What your plan will include

Here's exactly what happens when you come to Vitality with hip or knee pain:

• About an hour of detailed consultation and clinical assessment
• Digital X-rays if clinically required, bulk billed with a valid Medicare card
• Specific adjustments to assess whether change is possible for you
• If change is possible, and it's what you want, a care plan built around you and your lifestyle
• Specific glute, hip and leg strengthening exercises
• Advice on activity, footwear, sitting and sleep
• Daily tips to keep you moving and active

My promise to you

We can't reverse arthritis, and responses to care vary. I won't promise a set outcome or number of visits.

What I do promise is a full look at the whole chain, from your feet to your lower back, an honest answer, and a plan we review together.