6 Most Common Knee Injuries and How To Manage Them
Dealing with knee pain and want long-term relief?
Do you experience pain with squatting, prolonged sitting, or climbing stairs? Are you living with persistent pain, swelling, or mechanical symptoms, such as catching and locking? Do your knees make it difficult to perform daily tasks that once seemed simple?
If so, Panetta Physical Therapy can help you find relief. Below you’ll find a list of 6 of the most common knee injuries that cause discomfort, as well as treatment plans and a few tips on how to avoid knee injury. Knee pain can be debilitating, making it difficult to walk, run, and move. It may even hinder your ability to do some of the activities you love. Fortunately, our physical therapy treatments at Panetta Physical Therapy can get you moving once again by relieving your pain and enhancing your body’s natural healing process.
What are some common knee injuries? Your knee is the largest joint in your body, made up of a complex system of bones, tendons, and ligaments. Because of this, the knee can be easily injured due to overexertion or repetitive motions.
Most Common Knee Injuries
• Arthritis. The most common type of arthritis for knee pain is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage surrounding your joints deteriorates from “wear and tear.” This causes uncomfortable friction as the joint no longer has a sufficient cushion between the bone. Rheumatoid arthritis is another common cause of knee pain. This is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes the joints to become swollen and inflamed, with varying levels of severity.
• Fracture. A fracture occurs when one of the bones in the knee (including the kneecap, or patella) become damaged. Fractures are a common knee injury and are typically the result of some type of trauma, such as a harsh fall or collision.
• Torn ACL. An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear occurs when one of the ligaments connecting your shinbone to your thighbone becomes torn. This is a common injury for athletes who participate in sports that are physically-demanding on the knees, such as basketball, track and field, or soccer.
• Torn meniscus. The job of the meniscus is to act as a shock absorber between the shinbone and thighbone. It is made up of thick cartilage, but it can be torn if your knee twists too suddenly while weight is still being put on it.
• Patellar tendinitis. Your tendons are thick connective tissues that attach muscles to bones. Tendinitis occurs when one or multiple tendons become inflamed. The patellar tendon, located in the knee, typically becomes inflamed through repetitive jumping motions common in sports such as skiing, cycling, or hurdling.
• Knee bursitis. Bursae are small fluid sacs that act as cushions outside of your joints. Knee bursitis occurs when the bursae in your knee becomes inflamed, limiting the ability for your tendons and ligaments to move smoothly over the joint.
How can physical therapy help my knee pain?
Our licensed physical therapists at Panetta Physical Therapy will examine your knee for signs of misalignment or structural damage, in addition to examining your stance, posture, gait, and range of motion. After your physical exam is complete, your physical therapist will prescribe a physical therapy plan for you, aimed at relieving unnatural stresses and strains, and normalizing your joint function.
Knee Pain Treatment
Treatment plans for knee pain typically include:
• Hands-on Physical Therapy techniques to allow for appropriate offloading and healing. This may include what is called manual therapy techniques such as joint or soft tissue mobilization. This is where your PT uses specific techniques on your bone, muscles, ligaments and fascia in order to break adhesions and optimize your function. Our team of PT’s are certified orthopedic manual therapists which means they are specialists in these hands-on techniques. They understand surprising influences such as how restrictions in surrounding joints can add undue stress to the knee joint. They will address these important non painful elements that are often overlooked such as the low back, pelvis, or hips and even down at the ankles.
• Graded strength, dynamic stability, and capacity training targeting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, foot/ankle complex, and core. Strength training of the quads and glutes as part of a knee pain treatment plan has been shown to be highly effective with regard to reduction of pain, and it mitigates the risk of recurrence/ flare-ups in the future.
• Restoring range of motion in the knee. A knee with poor range of motion that is constantly flexed can cause persistent painful symptoms. Restoring range of motion will help it bend easier and ease stress on the knee, thus relieving pain.
• Graded exposure to previously painful activities, as gains in strength, tolerance, and capacity allow.
• Education regarding activity modification and the role of the nervous system in pain.
What can I do to avoid knee injury and keep knees healthy?
1. Maintain mobility of the surrounding joints. The knee is a hinge joint which is primarily supposed to bend and straighten. This is different from its surrounding joints such as the ankle and hip which should naturally have the ability rotate and move in many different directions. If the hip or ankles are tight or limited this often causes unnatural stress and twisting at the knee. Lack of hip extension (aka tight hip flexors) is often a BIG problem for knee pain sufferers. We can get tight in these areas especially if we sit for long periods of time.
2. Keep the muscles around your hips and knees strong, especially the gluteal and quadricep muscles. Studies show that adults (especially those 55 or older) who have stronger gluteal and quadricep muscles tend to have less knee pain and a greater ability to perform daily activities while keeping their knees healthy.
3. Exercise regularly. While this is good for the whole body, the knees especially need exercise to keep their cartilage healthy. The cartilage does not have much blood supply and requires its nutrition from joint fluid. Most of the joint fluid absorbs into the cartilage only through movement and compression of the knee. Therefore, it is important to do weight bearing exercises, such as walking, running, or playing a sport. However, if you have arthritis, it is advised that you do activities with less of an impact, such as biking, elliptical machines, or aquatic exercises, to avoid knee injury.
Sometimes knee pain shows up without any prior injuries o it’s important to take note of our daily activites and how they affect our knee health. Here are some additional tips on how you can deal with knee pain.
Contact us today! Are you living with knee pain? If so, don’t hesitate to contact Panetta Physical Therapy today. We’ll help relieve your pain so you can get back to living your life comfortably, without limitations!
Patient Testimonials
Elisa Bonavita2026-05-03Steve is awesome. He helped get me back on track.
Abby Herritt2026-04-07I’ve been going to Dr. Galassi on and off since I was 16, and he has helped me more than I ever could have imagined. Most recently, I was dealing with numbness in my feet and sciatic pain, and within just a few sessions, the numbness was gone and I felt significantly better. I truly believe he can help fix just about any injury. I’ve recommended so many people to him because I genuinely feel he has a gift for healing. If you’re willing to show up and push through the ups and downs of recovery, he is absolutely the person you want by your side. There have been times I’ve left sessions in tears not from pain, but from disbelief at how much better and more pain-free I felt walking out of the office. I can’t recommend him enough.
Komal Chand2026-02-11My experience at panetta has truly been life changing.i’m so grateful fo the safe,supportive environment and the care I received. A special thank you to my therapist,Danish Anwar for his patience,guidance and understanding. Your support has made a real difference in my journey.
Raymond Prososki2026-01-30I had a great experience with Dr. James Galassi at Panetta Physical Therapy. He’s professional, approachable, caring and explains everything in simple, easy-to-understand terms. The PT assistants — Constantine, Jake, Rich, and Christian — are patient and attentive, and Katie at the front desk makes scheduling and insurance issues easy to manage. Even though they didn’t treat me directly, Dr. Wiley and Dr. Anwar were fun and personable. Highly recommend this friendly, well-run office.
richard lippmann2026-01-20I can't say enough about the staff and the services at Pennetta. Everyone is so helpful and motivated to help heal whatever physical ailments you're dealing with. I especially love the Roslyn Village Office
P W2025-12-31After being diagnosed with rotator cuff injury I came back to James for treatment and exercises at home. After a few weeks I am greatly improved and appreciative for all the work and excellent supervision. Thanks James, Rich and Panetta PT.
Tom Cordero2025-11-16This is an update to my review, which I wrote several years back (see below) and is still applicable! I've recently returned to Panetta Roslyn for help following another injury--this time involving my rotator cuff--and once again, Panetta in Roslyn made all the difference in my healing and recovery. If you live within range and are in need of PT, this is the place you want to be. There are probably a hundred PT centers in Nassau County alone, but there's simply no place like Panetta Roslyn. Normally, you'd be lucky to find ONE Physical Therapist who is as superior as all three of the PT's who call Panetta Roslyn home. Steve, James and Danish are ALL first-rate in their professional knowledge and level of care. Katie who runs the scheduling and other business at the front desk is completely lovely and accommodating. Huge praise for Rich, the therapeutic assistant who manages any number of patients at once in the exercises rehab area--he is incredible! The bottom line, even after all these years, is that Panetta Roslyn is still the place to be. I'm back to my yoga and weight-training routines after hardly being able to lift my left arm, and it's all thanks to these amazing therapists and staff. Below is my original five-star review... I chose Panetta PT because of its proximity to my home, but frankly, it would have been worth a drive five times as long for the level of care and therapeutic treatment I've received here. Every member of the staff is top shelf, beginning with the front desk that's friendly and quick to accommodate even a schedule as specific as mine. The assistants who worked me through my prescribed exercise regimen were all superb, especially Dana, whose knowledge and passion for kinesthetic work is completely inspiring. The big kudos here go to the PT's themselves, two gents who are rock stars in the field as far as I'm concerned. I was lucky enough to have a few sessions with Danny, but my regular therapist was Steve, about whom I could rhapsodize for days. Besides being extraordinarily skilled and completely expert in his professional knowledge, Steve is vastly generous in the time he takes to educate his patients, and highly responsive to the immediate needs of patients before, during and after each session. In two months, I have progressed from barely being able to engage my right shoulder at all to being able to do full push-ups again. Best of all, I've learned what to do and what not to do in the future to protect this fussy joint. The space is sanitary and well attended, the location has ample parking and the care simply cannot be beat. Don't be surprised if, like me, you come to Panetta Roslyn as an anonymous face and leave feeling like a member of the family.
Samantha Kutcher2025-09-24I have been seen at the Roslyn office of Panetta Physical Therapy many times over the years, all with positive results. However I had to use Panetta again recently to rehab after a total knee replacement I had this past July. I have to say, without their help especially the physical therapist, Stephen Wiley, I would not have been back to playing pickleball at 5 weeks post op. I had wanted a therapist who would motivate me and inspire me to work hard both in the office and at home. Stephen knew how important it was to me to get back on the courts and start playing again. It made it easier to get through the painful recovery because our priorities were aligned. Everyone at the office were so very accommodating and caring and kind that it made coming to the office like being with your friends for the hour. I would HIGHLY recommend Panetta Therapy to everyone looking for qualified and caring physical therapists who treat you as a friend and patient.
Kosta Rica2025-08-06Alex is our treating PT specialist and he is very good. Easy going and caring. My son loves coming here. A nice, clean boutique PT place.
Penney Morash2025-06-27I had an outstanding experience at Panetta Physical Therapy. From the moment I walked in, the staff was incredibly welcoming, helpful, and knowledgeable. Scheduling appointments was a breeze, the facility was spotless, and the parking was easy and convenient — which made the whole process stress-free. I worked with Steve Wiley as my physical therapist, and I truly cannot say enough about him. He guided me through recovery from multiple injuries with detailed, easy-to-follow instructions. His professionalism, expertise, and dedication to patient care are unmatched. Steve is, without a doubt, the best physical therapist I have ever met. I’m so grateful for the healing and progress I’ve made thanks to him and the entire Panetta team. Highly recommend!
