“How do I know if my knee is out of alignment?”

Knee feels weak and makes a clicking noise when in flexion and extension.

Look at the curve of your knees and see if they bow in or bow out. Other than that measure your Q-angle.

You need to be evaluated.

Knee out of alignment could mean patella tracking dysfunction. If that is what you're trying to determine to be your pathology, an X-ray of the knees could determine the position of your patella. A sitting and standing posture analysis and a foot analysis can also help understand how your posture and your feet are playing a role in knee dysfunction.

Pain, weakness can indicate knee is out of alignment and being evaluated by a chiropractor to determine any dysfunction.

It is best to visit a Chiropractor or Orthopedic Doctor for a complete and thorough evaluation. Once that is completed, the Doctor will give you a Report of Findings to explain is your knee of out of alignment. This evaluation should include a thorough physical evaluation and mmay also include an X-ray or MRI.

If you stand in front of a mirror and look at the overall angle of the legs side-by-side and you can visually see that the suspect knee has a differing angle to it, then there my be alignment issues. The best way is to actually do squats in front a mirror and look at your knees when they are bending, if one knee trails off compared to the other then there is a problem.

Some signs of knee alignment issues include pain, clicking, and grinding. I would recommend a thorough evaluation with a good physical therapist or chiropractor which may include an X-ray of your knee.

Steve Lipschutz, DC, CCSP

The best way to know is get checked by a licensed chiropractor or orthopedic surgeon to evaluate

Hello from Dr. Weber,

To the 34-year-old female, you may suspect your knee is out of alignment first and foremost if it is painful while moving or kneeling or extending but when you are at rest i.e. not in motion the pain subsides or goes away completely. This could be of course worry or concern for further analysis hence the same course is also possible if you have a meniscal tear. This is why when you go to your doctor he/she may order further diagnostic imaging or if he/she is skilled in orthopedic testing the doctor may perform some orthopedic tests and movements to further assess whether a tear is more likely or it is a subluxation. An overall determinant that increases the potential for a tear is if you had any type of trauma to it, fall, impact, quick turn, etc. if you just woke up and it was hurting then there is a greater likelihood that it just needs a tune up from your chiropractor.
I hope this helps. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Dr. Jim M. Weber

The question is: How do I know if my knee is out of alignment? Since you may have as many as 360 joints, I wonder how do you know whether any of them are out of alignment and very important: why should you care? Pain is one of the indicators of malalignment, but shoddy alignment may not be the only cause of pain. I have been confronted with a painful knee and
found the bones to be in perfect alignment. Of course, I am disappointed because that means I can’t help by aligning the bones that are involved in the knee joint: the distal femur, proximal fibula, proximal tibia and the patella. Other components of the knee may be involved such as one or more of 11 ligaments, or the bursa, or tendons. There may be a genetic problem such as Osgood-Schlatters causing inflammation. Sometimes it is necessary to have an X-ray, MRI, or CT scan to determine how serious the problem is or to learn more about the components of your knee. The simple answer is that as a chiropractor who has taken special courses to also specialize in extremity alignment, I would need to perform some orthopedic and chiropractic tests and possibly some special studies to determine the alignment condition of your knee. I think that in order for you to determine the answer you would need to consult an expert Doctor of Chiropractic specializing in extremities. The reason you should care about joint alignment is because when joints are left out of alignment they wear wrong- just like tires, but with the painful consequence of arthritis in years to come.

Pain when attempting to function, appearance of swelling in the knee.

Dr. Viernow

Knee misalignments can change the balance of muscles in the lower extremity. Sometimes you can see that your leg doesn’t stand correctly, or move correctly., either one indicates a misalignment could be present. However, foot, ankle, hip, sacroiliac and spine misalignments can cause knee pain. See a chiropractor who treats extremities to know for sure.

Through measuring the Q-angle of your knee and it’s correlation to the hip (ASIS) on the same side

Pain, swelling, or limping are usually good indicators that the knee is out of alignment.