Knee Pain · Gig Harbor

Stairs without the handrail.

Knee pain rarely starts in the knee alone. Hips, feet and how you move all load the joint, so we look at the whole chain.

Sound familiar?

Tick the ones that fit.

Not a diagnosis. Just a quick way to see whether your pain has the pattern we treat every day.

Stairs, especially going down, are the worst.
It aches after sitting through a movie or a long drive.
Squatting or kneeling makes it sharp at the front.
It swells a little after a long walk or a run.
Someone has told me my hips are weak or my feet are flat.
It clicks, catches, or feels like it might give way.

The knee sits between two joints that steer it, the hip and the ankle. When the hips are weak or the feet collapse inward, the knee pays for it on every step. Treating the knee without fixing that pattern is why so much knee pain comes back.

What it can feel like

Pain on stairs, squatting or kneeling
Swelling or stiffness after activity
Pain at the front of the knee around the kneecap
Pain on the inside or outside of the knee when running
Stiffness after sitting (“movie-theater knee”)

Common causes

Patellofemoral pain (runner’s knee)
Patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee)
IT band friction
Meniscus or ligament strain
Osteoarthritis
Weak hips and glutes, flat feet, or a leg-length difference

How we treat it

Treatment combines joint and soft-tissue work on the knee, hip and ankle with physiotherapy that strengthens the hips and quads and retrains how you squat, step and land. Taping or bracing can help in the short term. For patellar tendinopathy, shockwave therapy targets the tendon directly.

If the knee locks, gives way, or doesn’t respond as expected, we refer for imaging or an orthopedic opinion.

When to seek urgent care. A knee that is hot, red and swollen with fever, or that cannot bear any weight after an injury, needs same-day medical care.

How getting better usually goes

Four stops.

First visit

Answers.

You leave knowing what it is, what the plan is, how long it should take, and what it costs with your insurance.

Weeks 1–2

Relief.

Pain down, motion up. Visits are closer together while the joints learn to move again and the muscles stop guarding.

Weeks 3–6

Rebuild.

Physiotherapy makes it hold: the muscles that let you down get strong enough to carry you. The part most people skip, and the part that keeps it from coming back.

After

Your life back.

A short home routine, a check-in now and then, and the door open if it ever flares.