As we step into spring, many of us are planning and starting our gardens, weeding, raking, and preparing for planting. Gardening has numerous health benefits: building strength, promoting sleep, boosting mood, and getting quality sunshine and Vitamin D. However, gardening does place stress and strain on joints and muscles when digging, planting, weeding, mulching, and raking, particularly the knee. Gardener’s knee is a common gardening-related injury that involves inflammation, swelling, and pain in the bursa at the front of the kneecap. To prevent knee pain when gardening, check out our gardening injury prevention tips!

Chronic knee pain, which affects one in four Americans, can be debilitating and limit your function and mobility. Chronic knee pain involves ongoing pain, swelling, and sensitivity in the knee that lasts more than 4-6 months and can result from a traumatic injury that healed incorrectly or from medical conditions like osteoarthritis. Physical therapy can help you manage chronic knee pain long-term without the need for surgery to reduce pain and improve your mobility and function.

Knee bursitis involves inflammation of one or more bursae of the knee joint, causing pain, swelling, and limited mobility in the knee. Bursae are fluid-filled sacs that serve as cushions to reduce friction between bone and skin or bone and tendon. Knee bursitis can develop from a direct blow to the knee or from repetitive stress movements or pressure on the knee over time. Physical therapy for knee bursitis can help reduce pain, swelling, and stiffness in the knee and restore mobility in the knee through targeted therapeutic exercise and manual therapy.