Knee pain exercises · Chapel Hill
Knee exercises haven’t helped? Look at what your knee is being asked to do.
More repetitions aren’t always the missing piece. At Royal Pain, we assess the activities that hurt to understand what your knee needs next.
Clinical insights from Dr. Derek Nielsen, PT, DPT, owner of Royal Pain Physical Therapy.
What brings on your knee pain?
Notice how your symptoms differ between activities:
- Squatting or lunging makes your knee hurt.
- Running or hiking brings symptoms back.
- Going up stairs feels different from coming down.
- You notice stiffness or difficulty moving through your hip or ankle.
These symptoms don’t tell you exactly what’s causing the problem, but they give us more to investigate.
At Royal Pain, we examine the movement that hurts, including how your hip, knee, and ankle work together. We use your response to treatment to guide a plan for getting back to the activities you want to do.
The same symptom doesn’t mean the same problem.
One person may need strength. Another may need mobility or a different starting point for squatting, stairs, or running. The same knee exercise won’t address every reason those activities may hurt.
At Royal Pain, we assess first to understand what your problem needs—then check your response to guide treatment toward lasting relief.
How Royal Pain finds your starting point.
Your symptoms, movement, and treatment response guide the plan—including what you can do on your own for pain relief.
Assess first.
At Royal Pain, we examine the movement that hurts and use a hands-on assessment to look for what may be contributing to your pain.
Treat and recheck.
We treat what we believe is contributing, then repeat the painful movement to check whether your symptoms improve. Your response guides what we do next.
Build on the response.
We use what helps to guide your treatment and show you what to do at home—so you can build on the relief and address what’s contributing to your pain.
A closer look at knee pain.
Learn how Royal Pain approaches knee pain, including questions about arthritis, meniscus tears, and pain without a clear diagnosis.
Knee pain care at Royal Pain
Not ready to book an appointment yet?
Get a free copy of Pain Is a Royal Nuisance and discover a process for addressing what may be keeping you in pain—without relying on medication or surgery.
Understand your options before deciding.
Talk with Dr. Nielsen about your knee pain, what you’ve tried, and where he would start based on your symptoms.