April 2, 2020

Jake’s Story: Online Physio for a football-related knee injury

Jake booked in for Online Physio after experiencing a flare–up of a football-related knee injury he sustained last year. 

In his first Online Physio session with our Senior Physio Bryony, Jake explained that with a combination of rest and strength training, he had got last year’s pain under control. However, since working and training from home over the last couple of weeks, his pain and discomfort had returned. 

After chatting with Jake, it was clear that he was suffering from an overload injury surrounding all the muscles in his knee. This resulted in pain on the front of his kneecap. Which was aggravated by playing football and sprinting during a game. 

Knee injury diagnosis and treatment

On delivering the diagnosis, Bryony prescribed Jake’s treatment plan involving knee stability and glute exercises. It is important to look at the whole limb, rather than isolating the injury site, in order to strengthen the right muscles. 

Knee injury equipment

When it came to equipment Jake didn’t have weights available (he’s at home after all). Bryony prescribed exercises which incorporated the kit he had to hand. This included resistance bands to increase intensity, and a foam roller to release muscles that were particularly tight. 

From football to running…

Jake is an active guy, and while resting after an injury is important, dramatically reducing your normal level of physical activity can make things worse. Finding an alternative is the best way forward. Bryony reassured Jake that running is a great way to keep your body moving, without risking further damage to the knee. So... Jake is now running 5K five times a week! 

How Jake’s feeling now…

After two sessions over two weeks, Jake is no longer experiencing day-to-day pain. He continues to incorporate his exercises into his home-based routines. We look forward to seeing Jake for his third session next week, where the exercise intensity will increase.  

Bryony is confident that, with Online Physio, we will soon be able to get Jake on a graduated running programme. This will help get his body set to return to doing what he loves – playing football. 

If like Jake, you are also suffering from a painful injury or general discomfort, give our Online Physio service a try.