Knee Joint Pain in Combat Sports

If you train regularly in combat sports or martial arts, then you’re probably familiar with some form of knee joint pain. Whether it’s during your kicks, checks, stepping off for a cross, or even when you’re working your guard, there’s always something you can do to reduce your symptoms, and get back to training at full capacity.

The knee joint

The knee is a deceptively complex joint. There are three bones directly forming the knee joint – the femur, tibia, and patella (knee cap). The movement of these bones are all carefully coordinated by the surrounding muscles to provide pain-free mobility, stability and strength. Further passive soft tissue structures within and around the knee provide additional stability and sensory information, allowing the knee to function optimally.

For example, if you experience knee pain on the outside (lateral) portion of your patella when you’re lunging forward for a take down, or stepping out/across for a leg kick, it may be a sign that the outside thigh muscles are over-active or tight, and causing a change in how the patella moves or tracks.

Other people may experience knees which “pop” backwards, or deeper pain in the knee on their planted leg when kicking. This may be associated with an imbalance in strength between the quadriceps and hamstring muscles, or poor control of these muscles.

A sharp pain at the bottom of the patella when you’re springing back off your lead leg may be a sign of tendon injury. This can be caused by a variety of factors and may require a longer-term structured rehabilitation approach for best recovery.

To make things more complicated, problems in our knees can actually be caused by other joints further up or down the kinetic chain. The first considerations would be the hip joint above or the ankle below.

In Summary

Although most types of knee pain can be treated with exercise to improve strength, stability, and mobility, there is no “catch-all” treatment for knee pain. The causes and contributing factors are different for everyone. If you’re looking to do a quick assessment of your symptoms, a good place to start is by comparing the strength and mobility of your affected side to your unaffected side. From here, you can begin to address any deficits you find with the appropriate exercises. Ideally, for any issue or ailment around the knee, we recommend you book in with one of our physiotherapists who can work alongside you to guide your rehab.

Jordan Press
Physiotherapist