What can you do to treat leg pain behind the knee?

The best answer to this question depends on the source of your pain. Issues that can cause leg pain behind the knee range from minor to serious. A minor issue is a leg cramp. Slightly more serious issues include meniscus tears or hamstring strains. 

Whatever the source of your pain, you’re far from the only person suffering from leg pain behind the knee; 1 in 3 Americans report that they’ve had knee pain at some point. Physical therapy can be an effective treatment option for knee and leg pain, and therapists can even offer you advice that you can use outside of your sessions. 

Self-care tips for leg pain behind the knee

There are several tips that you should use if you have pain in your knee or pain in the back of your leg above the knee. 

1. Rest — Many knee and leg issues are brought on by overuse. For instance, you may have recently upped how far you’re jogging, and the increased distance might be too much for your legs and knees. Rest can be an effective way to address minor overuse injuries. 

2. Light stretches — An issue like cramping is often linked to not stretching before physical activity. Also, overuse injuries can often benefit from some light stretches to improve blood flow and flexibility. A physical therapist can show you how to do stretches that can benefit you. 

3. Get help if the pain continues — Minor knee and leg issues typically feel less painful after a few days of self-care. However, pain that continues for a week or longer could be a sign of a more serious issue. If your pain has lasted a week or longer, then you should seek help from your primary care physician or physical therapist. 

How can a physical therapist help your leg pain behind the knee?

When self-care tips aren’t enough for your pain, physical therapists can use techniques to help you. Some of these techniques include: 

• Manual therapy to mobilize the affected knee and the soft tissue around it. 

• Dry needling that can promote a local twitch response that can decrease muscle tension.

• Therapeutic exercises to stretch and strengthen the muscles around your knee. 

• At-home care sessions that involve working with your physical therapist one-on-one in the comfort of your own home. 

• Virtual therapy appointments where you meet with a specialist over a secure video link.

Back in Motion Physical Therapy offers help for leg pain behind the knee

Not sure where you can go to get all the therapy methods above for your leg pain? Our team at Back in Motion offers all these techniques and so much more. We can perform a free screening for you that’s intended to reveal the exact cause of your pain. Additionally, our physical therapists are experts at building personalized therapy plans designed to decrease pain. Your plan can also be designed to reduce the chances of the pain coming back. 

Contact us today for more information about the treatment options we offer for the knees and legs or to schedule your initial appointment.