When should you see your local physiotherapy clinic?

In 2011 I spent more than nine months with an exercise-related injury which ended in distinct knee pain every time I tried to work out. This knee pain got worse over time and my ability to exercise had been restricted to the upper body workouts, like swimming, push-ups and kettlebell workouts. I was certainly struggling to squat and run without experiencing the same knee pain the day after.

Before my injury, I spent a few years training within a CrossFit box. During that time I typically kept free of injuries, until the knee started to play up. Since my injury happened, CrossFit training had been out of the question.

I avoided going to the physiotherapist worrying that I may need arthroscopy to fix my knee pain. I was concerned with cartilage damage because my knee had been creating a quite audible grinding noise. After a discussion with the personal trainer, VeronikaPT, I made a decision to go to a well-known Sydney physio, Balance in Motion, that specialises in lower limb physio and running injuries.

Nick, the physio, established quite quickly that my knee problems had not been connected with any cartilage damage, but rather a substantial tightness in my outer quad muscle. The outer quad muscle had been very tight and the internal quad muscle wasn't very active - consequently my knee cap had been pulled upward. The grinding noises had been the knee cap friction against some fat matter that sets apart knee cap from the bone. Since that fat matter included quite a few nerve endings, and my knee cap was grinding against it, I had been experiencing this particular knee pain.

Appear straightforward? Well, not necessarily - the next thing I learnt from Nick was that the real cause of my quad rigidity was in my imbalance within my rib cage (?) and was connected with my shoulder dislocation some 12 years ago. I was surprised that my sports physio could tell all this from the 30 minute consultation, a few squats, some balancing on each leg and some pressing and quad muscle assessment.

The main discovery for me was that all my injuries during the last decade were on the very same side of my body - and associated with this rib cage imbalance. Fundamentally, my entire body had been compensating this very small muscular tightness around my shoulder and ribs. The solution was simple - some remedial massage, acupuncture and lightweight workouts to mend my posture and loosen up my muscle tissue.

My key points in cases like this are these:

- I have never paid a visit to a physiotherapy centre in order to prevent injuries.
- Once I did so, it took not even half an hour to ascertain the reason behind my knee pain and the root causes.
- It took less than four weeks to fully remove the problem, including my rib cage issues.
- I have lost nearly a year without being in a position to exercise effectively, occasionally suffering from a substantial knee pain.

To answer my starting question - physiotherapy need to be viewed as a precautionary as well as remedial measure for anyone carrying out any fitness or sporting activity. Correcting the particular posture or muscular inadequacies and traumas ought to be seen as a top priority no matter what degree of physical fitness you happen to be.

So as well as the coaching from your personal trainer, regular remedial massage and physio ought to make up the basis of longevity in physical fitness and workout.