Restoring Knee Flexion From An Old Injury
The client had endured a knee injury many years back which he did not heal properly and continued to train in various strenuous activities such as cross fit and jiu jitsu.
Left is the initial measurement of (right) knee flexion in question. Right picture is post bodywork session. Knee flexion measured past the desired 140 degrees of flexion as well as improved feeling from the client.
The Problem
The client had endured a knee injury many years back which he did not heal properly and continued to train in various strenuous activities such as cross fit and jiu jitsu. The lack of knee flexion in his right leg has been causing him a lot of discomfort and hesitation as he continued to train jiu jitsu through the years. He has tried different chiros and physical therapists with no concrete resolution.
The Assessment
We started by understanding how much knee flexion (bend) the client had available. 140 degrees is ideally the amount of flexion we want- he was initially measured at 130. We also tested for patella mobility which surprisingly was none- existent. Muscles to address with compromised knee flexion would primarily be quads and sartorius.
The Solution
The session was started with ART (active release technique), cupping and soft tissue mobilization on the client’s sartorius and quad mobilization. His tib ant was also checked to loosen all the muscles around his knee cap. We performed a patella distraction with a silicone cup to recreate the spacing in his knee to help the knee mobility. He responded really well to the mobility work and achieved over a 10 degree improvement in knee flexion when we retested.
Conclusion
After the session, the client expressed a feeling of freedom in his knee from the improved amount of flexion. “It felt like my knee was going to explode when I would bend my knee” the client explained. “Now, it feels normal!” It is very common for knee flexion to be limited when big muscles like your quads are tight, pulling up on the joint. We were very happy with the result and I gave the client homework to maintain his new found mobility.
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