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Craig Smith, PT, DPT, conducts a knee exam at Smith Performance Center, demonstrating expert physical therapy techniques in knee pain assessment, rehabilitation, and injury recovery while flexing his arm in a lighthearted moment.

Knee Pain and Physical Therapy: A Structured Approach to Recovery

  Updated by Craig Smith February 22, 2025 Understanding Knee Pain: Why Won’t It Go Away? Knee pain is a common and persistent problem that affects daily life. Whether you’re avoiding stairs, switching from running to biking, or waiting for a knee replacement, chronic knee pain can disrupt your routine. And it is more complicated than we often admit or see online. At Smith Performance Center, we believe that effective knee pain treatment requires more than just exercises or quick fixes—it needs a structured plan. This is where our SPC Phases come into play. Our phase-based system ensures that each step of rehab is intentional, guiding patients from pain relief to long-term performance. This article explores why knee pain occurs, how physical therapy should address it, and what steps you can take to regain control over your movement. Why Is Knee Pain So Common? The knee may seem like a

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5 Reasons You May Struggle To Get A Diagnosis And The Right Treatment At Physical Therapy

Upon your arrival at Smith Performance Center, our primary goal is to comprehensively understand the source of your pain or symptoms.  Our physical therapists initiate this by gathering information through a medical history form, conducting interviews about your experiences, performing thorough examinations, creating an initial list of potential diagnoses, validating our hypotheses through treatment, and finally, devising an initial home plan. This phase in our rehabilitation process is aptly termed ‘Diagnosis and Home Plan Development’. While not a creative title, it encapsulates the process our team undertakes.  A workable diagnosis is pivotal. However, arriving at a diagnosis can be challenging due to various reasons. These complexities range from the diverse causes of pain (such as injury, inflammation, nerve-related issues, sensitization, psychogenic factors, and dysfunctional conditions) to individual-specific challenges. Patients may struggle to explain their experiences, while others may not show rapid responses to treatment due to the absence of a

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5 Steps To Develop A Diagnosis In Physical Therapy

“My butt hurts.” A significant proportion of my conversations start with this statement. She continued, “ I have regular active release along with dry needling. I stretch my hamstring ALL THE TIME and I still have pain.” Her frustration was palpable. “I know I have a tight hamstring and there is scar tissue.  But it’s been 8 months.” She assumes the pain must be the hamstring; we call this the pain generator.  The hamstring tendon attaches right where her pain starts. The tightness is over the hamstring muscle belly.  She describes the pain in a clear way that implicates the hamstring.   She made a convincing argument that the hamstring is the issue and the diagnosis has been repeated by multiple medical providers including a physician and two physical therapists. The location matched.  Running increased the pain. Another match. Stretching and manual therapy provided temporary relief. But 8 months into the

Read More »
Craig Smith, PT, DPT, conducts a knee exam at Smith Performance Center, demonstrating expert physical therapy techniques in knee pain assessment, rehabilitation, and injury recovery while flexing his arm in a lighthearted moment.

Knee Pain and Physical Therapy: A Structured Approach to Recovery

  Updated by Craig Smith February 22, 2025 Understanding Knee Pain: Why Won’t It Go Away? Knee pain is a common and persistent problem that affects daily life. Whether you’re avoiding stairs, switching from running to biking, or waiting for a knee replacement, chronic knee pain can disrupt your routine. And it is more complicated than we often admit or see online. At Smith Performance Center, we believe that effective knee pain treatment requires more than just exercises or quick fixes—it needs a structured plan. This is where our SPC Phases come into play. Our phase-based system ensures that each step of rehab is intentional, guiding patients from pain relief to long-term performance. This article explores why knee pain occurs, how physical therapy should address it, and what steps you can take to regain control over your movement. Why Is Knee Pain So Common? The knee may seem like a

Read More »

5 Reasons You May Struggle To Get A Diagnosis And The Right Treatment At Physical Therapy

Upon your arrival at Smith Performance Center, our primary goal is to comprehensively understand the source of your pain or symptoms.  Our physical therapists initiate this by gathering information through a medical history form, conducting interviews about your experiences, performing thorough examinations, creating an initial list of potential diagnoses, validating our hypotheses through treatment, and finally, devising an initial home plan. This phase in our rehabilitation process is aptly termed ‘Diagnosis and Home Plan Development’. While not a creative title, it encapsulates the process our team undertakes.  A workable diagnosis is pivotal. However, arriving at a diagnosis can be challenging due to various reasons. These complexities range from the diverse causes of pain (such as injury, inflammation, nerve-related issues, sensitization, psychogenic factors, and dysfunctional conditions) to individual-specific challenges. Patients may struggle to explain their experiences, while others may not show rapid responses to treatment due to the absence of a

Read More »

5 Steps To Develop A Diagnosis In Physical Therapy

“My butt hurts.” A significant proportion of my conversations start with this statement. She continued, “ I have regular active release along with dry needling. I stretch my hamstring ALL THE TIME and I still have pain.” Her frustration was palpable. “I know I have a tight hamstring and there is scar tissue.  But it’s been 8 months.” She assumes the pain must be the hamstring; we call this the pain generator.  The hamstring tendon attaches right where her pain starts. The tightness is over the hamstring muscle belly.  She describes the pain in a clear way that implicates the hamstring.   She made a convincing argument that the hamstring is the issue and the diagnosis has been repeated by multiple medical providers including a physician and two physical therapists. The location matched.  Running increased the pain. Another match. Stretching and manual therapy provided temporary relief. But 8 months into the

Read More »

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Tucson, AZ 85711

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3:30 pm to 7:15 pm 

Saturday

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Closed Sunday

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