Knee Pain Treatment on the Gold Coast
Sore on stairs, after sport, or just getting out of a chair? Our physiotherapists and podiatrists assess the knee alongside the foot, ankle and hip — because what loads a knee often sits above or below it.
What to expect
- Assessment and first treatment in the same appointment
- No GP referral required
- Pre-surgery and post-surgery rehabilitation
- Health fund rebates claimed on the spot
- FREE on-site parking behind the clinic
Podiatry and physio together
Both in the one clinic — and we move you across if the other one is the better fit.
No referral needed
Book straight in. Medicare care plans, DVA and NDIS patients welcome.
Health fund rebates on the spot
HICAPS in the clinic — claim as you pay and only settle the gap.
FREE on-site parking
Car park behind the clinic on Olsen Avenue, Arundel, plus free street parking.
The knee is usually the victim, not the culprit
The knee is a hinge caught between two much more mobile joints: the hip above it and the foot and ankle below it. When either of those is not doing its share, the knee tends to absorb the difference.
That is why a knee can keep hurting despite months of knee exercises. If the reason the joint is being loaded awkwardly sits somewhere else, treating only the knee tends to give short-lived relief.
Our assessment looks at the whole chain — how your foot strikes the ground, how much movement you have at the ankle and hip, how strong the muscles around the knee and hip are, and how you move through a step, a squat and a stair.
From there you get a clear explanation of what we think is going on and a plan that addresses it, rather than a generic sheet of exercises.
Knee pain that is not settling? Get it properly assessed.
What causes knee pain?
Patellofemoral pain
Aching around or behind the kneecap, typically worse on stairs, hills, squatting or after a long drive. Common in runners and in people who have recently increased their activity.
Osteoarthritis
Stiffness after rest, ache with load, sometimes swelling. Pain levels and what a scan shows often do not match — so the plan is built around what you can and cannot do, not just the report.
Tendon pain
Patellar or quadriceps tendon pain, usually load-related and localised to a point you can put a finger on. Responds to graded loading rather than rest.
Meniscus and cartilage
Catching, locking or pain on twisting. Many meniscal changes are age-related and manageable without surgery; some need an orthopaedic opinion, and we will say which we think you are.
Ligament injury
After a twist, a tackle or a fall. Needs proper assessment to work out what is involved and whether imaging or a surgical opinion is warranted.
Referred and growth-related pain
Knee pain can refer from the hip or lower back. In active children and teenagers it can come from the growth plates. Both change the plan entirely.
Knee replacement and reconstruction rehab
If you have surgery booked, the work you do beforehand matters. Going in with better strength and range of movement generally makes the early weeks afterwards more manageable. We can put a pre-operative programme together and co-ordinate it with your surgeon’s instructions.
Afterwards, we follow your surgeon’s protocol and progress you through it — range of movement first, then strength, then the things you actually want to get back to, whether that is golf, gardening or the stairs at home.
If you are still sore a long way down the track from a knee operation, that is worth assessing too. It is a common reason people come to see us.
How we treat knee pain
Your plan depends on the assessment. Most people get a combination of the below rather than any single thing.
Progressive strengthening
For most knee problems this is the part that does the heavy lifting. Quadriceps, glutes and calf all matter. You will get a short, specific programme with a plan for how to make it harder as you improve — not a long list you will never do.
Hands-on treatment and joint mobilisation
Where stiffness in the knee, hip, ankle or foot is limiting how you move, manual therapy can help restore that movement so the strengthening work has somewhere to go. See foot mobilisation for how we apply this below the knee.
Load management
How much, how often and how hard. Knees usually object to sudden change rather than to activity itself, so we work out what to pull back temporarily and what to keep doing — then build it back up.
Footwear and orthotic therapy where appropriate
How the foot meets the ground changes the forces reaching the knee. For some people footwear changes or an orthotic device are a useful part of the plan. We will explain the reasoning and the alternatives — see orthotics.
Taping and bracing
Useful short term to reduce symptoms enough that you can do the rehabilitation, and as a test of whether changing the load on a structure changes your pain.
Imaging, GP and specialist referral
Where the presentation warrants it we will organise imaging or refer you for an orthopaedic opinion and write to your GP. Equally, we will tell you when a scan is unlikely to change anything.
What happens at your first appointment
Your story
When it started, what aggravates it, any previous injuries or surgery, and what you want to get back to doing.
Assessment
The knee itself, plus hip, ankle and foot — movement, strength, and how you walk, squat and manage a step.
Explanation
What we think is going on, in plain English, and a realistic view of how long it is likely to take.
Treatment and plan
Hands-on treatment where appropriate, your starting exercises, and what we expect to change before the review.
Book a knee assessment — appointments are usually available within days.
Knee pain FAQs
I have been told I have “bone on bone”. Is there any point?
It is worth being assessed. What a scan shows and how much pain and restriction a person has often line up poorly, and plenty of people with significant changes on imaging manage well with the right strengthening and load plan. That is not a promise about your knee — it is a reason to have it looked at properly before assuming nothing can be done. If a surgical opinion is the sensible next step, we will say so.
Should I rest it or keep moving?
Usually somewhere in between. Complete rest tends to leave the muscles around the knee weaker, which makes the return harder. We will usually modify what you do rather than stop it, and give you a guide for how much soreness is acceptable.
Do I need a scan?
Often not. Imaging is useful where it will change what we do — for example a suspected significant ligament or meniscal injury, or a presentation that does not fit. Age-related changes show up on the scans of a great many people with no symptoms, so a report on its own rarely tells the whole story.
Why are you looking at my feet?
Because the knee sits directly above them. How your foot contacts the ground and how much movement you have at the ankle both influence the forces going through the knee. It is one of the reasons we run podiatry and physiotherapy in the same clinic.
Do I need a referral?
No. Book directly with us. If your GP has provided a Medicare Chronic Condition Management Plan, bring it along and we can process the rebate in the clinic. DVA and NDIS patients are welcome.
How many appointments will I need?
That depends on the problem and on how much of the work you do between visits. Your clinician will give you an indication after the assessment, and will review it honestly with you as you go — including telling you when you no longer need us.
Hip to Toe, Arundel
138 Olsen Avenue, Arundel
Gold Coast, QLD 4214
Near the corner of Central Street, between Harbour Town and the Gold Coast University Hospital.
Phone: 07 5571 7329
Email: reception@hiptotoe.com.au
Getting here
FREE on-site parking in the car park behind the clinic, plus free street parking out the front.
Ramped entrances, a disability parking bay and an accessible bathroom. If you’d like a hand getting in, call ahead and we’ll make sure someone can meet you.
Book your knee assessment
Assessment, explanation and first treatment in the one appointment. No referral needed, health fund rebates on the spot, free parking out the back.
Related: hip pain, heel pain, physiotherapy and sports injuries.
