Hips and knees are common areas of pain and injury for all age groups. Due to the way your hip joint is integrated with your pelvis and lumbar spine means that it is necessary to perform a thorough analysis of the lower limb with all hip pain assessments. Our experienced hip and knee physiotherapists will help you feel less pain, enjoy increased mobility, regain flexibility, and become more comfortable with your movement. Poor buttock strength can often cause hip, lateral hip, knee and kneecap pain. Doing the right course of exercises will help you get results faster. Targeted hip and knee pain physio treatments may help you avoid painful and invasive surgery. Hydrotherapy can also be effective when strengthening hip muscles. Common hip conditions that can be helped by our hip physio are:

• Hip bursitis
• Hip tendinopathy
• Hip impingement
• Hip osteoarthritis
• Hip replacement
• Hip muscle imbalance

Hip and knee injuries generally occur due to altered biomechanics (forces acting on the body, and the effects of these forces), excessive load or as a result of a traumatic injury. Treatment that your knee and hip physio may recommend for easing hip or knee pain may include joint mobilising, dry needling, taping, hydrotherapy, home/gym exercises and activity modification. Weight loss along with improving your buttock strength will help with knee arthritis symptoms and help you to avoid knee replacement surgery. Finding the right starting point for exercises for you is our speciality. Common knee conditions our knee physios see are:

• Knee meniscal injuries
• Knee ligament or tendon injuries
• Knee bursitis
• Knee osteoarthritis

Children also suffer from knee pain, often as a result of rapid growth spurts causing muscle imbalances and pain. The kneecap or just below the knee where the patella tendon attaches (Osgood Schlatters) can cause pain and discomfort as your child grows. Knee taping, bracing or foot orthotics will allow them to continue participating in sport. Carrying out the strengthening exercises recommended by our knee physio will also help reduce their pain.

GLA:D™ (Good living with Arthritis: Denmark) is an evidence based education and exercise program for those with hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA). Developed by researchers in Denmark, this program has 28 000 participants on the Danish national registry since 2013. Researchers report results such as: 32% decrease in OA symptoms, improved joint stability, reduced pain medication use and increased activity levels continuing at 12 months review. The specific neuromuscular exercises and education session aim to:

• Help you better understand how to manage symptoms
• Make your joint feel more stable
• Improve your function and level of activity

The GLA:D™ Australia program has only recently been established, and the national registry will enable participants to be part of ongoing research into hip and knee osteoarthritis management. This program is ideal for anyone with mild, moderate or severe hip/knee osteoarthritis. It is also applicable for pre- or post- hip and knee joint replacement surgery.

Register for the FREE Education sessions by booking online or phone to enquire about how to join the program.

To learn more about the GLA:D™ Australia program, head to their website. There is a particularly relevant report by Norman Swan on osteoarthritis treatment.