--- title: "The GPS for Your Knees" entity: "blog" canonical_url: "https://www.betterknees.com/blog/thegpsforyourknees" markdown_url: "https://www.betterknees.com/llms/blog/thegpsforyourknees" lastmod: "2025-03-24T17:22:00.000Z" --- Fluctuations in knee pain can feel random. If you’re unfamiliar with interpreting what your knees are telling you, your knee pain – or stiffness, soreness, swelling, and other uncomfortable symptoms – may seem arbitrary . This often leads to trying a lot of things, like: - acupuncture - anti-inflammatory medication - compression knee sleeves - creams or topical gels - elevating your knee - generic exercises - heat - ice - injections - knee braces - massage or manual therapy - prescription painkillers - rest - stretching Sometimes they help a little. Or they help temporarily. It’s very frustrating when they don’t provide a permanent solution. This frequently causes people, like yourself, to worry and ask: Are my knees actually getting better? Where are your knees headed? If you’ve ever taken a road trip, the first thing you need to know is your destination. Your GPS needs to know where you’re headed to choose the best route. If you’re like many of my clients, your intended destination for your knees is being pain-free, during and after everything you enjoy doing. The GPS for your knees To determine where your knees are at right now, I recommend the KOOS. The KOOS (Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score) will give you a number between 0 and 100. Zero means you have extreme knee problems. One hundred means you have absolutely no knee problems. The KOOS is a valid, scientifically reliable, zero-cost questionnaire. ([source](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC280702/)) The topics include: - knee pain, - symptoms, - daily activities, - sports and recreation, & - quality of life. To get your KOOS, you’ll answer questions – using a scale between 0 to 4 – to rate the extent to which your knees are limiting you. And it only takes about 10 minutes to complete. Your KOOS will be automatically calculated for you when you use [this link](https://orthotoolkit.com/koos/). Determine your KOOS [here](https://orthotoolkit.com/koos/) . What your KOOS tells you Unlike your GPS for road trips, the KOOS won’t provide the best route to [Better Knees](https://betterknees.com/services) . Rather, it reveals your current location . And then, you can decide whether you’re getting closer to or farther from your destination (which is presumably enjoying your activities with less and less knee pain). Here’s an example from someone who is implementing th e [Better Knees Method](https://betterknees.com/method) : In less than 5 weeks, his KOOS increased more than 12 points. For reference, a 10-point increase indicates improvement beyond random fluctuations in your knee symptoms. ( [source](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0968016023001357) ) Even though he was still having knee pain, he knew his knees were truly improving. Without the KOOS, he may have felt discouraged that his knees weren’t completely pain-free. Instead, comparing his KOOS from one month to the next motivated him to continue implementing the [Better Knees Method](https://betterknees.com/method) . This made it possible for him to confidently continue improving his knees . ## How to use the KOOS to improve your knees 1. Start by completing the [KOOS](https://orthotoolkit.com/koos/). 2. Put a reminder in your phone, or on your calendar, to complete it again in 4 - 5 weeks. 3. Calculate the difference in your KOOS by subtracting your previous KOOS from your current one. So let’s say you take the KOOS today & your result is 71. And next month you take the KOOS & your result is 83. The difference is an increase of 12 points. On the other hand, let’s say your KOOS today is 71. And next month, your KOOS is 57. The difference is a decrease of 14 points. 4. Interpret the difference in your KOOS. IF your KOOS decreased : - by 10 or more points, your knee(s) are likely getting worse. (Exceptions occur when you’ve stopped taking medication, reduced the dose of that medication, or you were initially under the influence of steroid injections.) - by less than 10 points, the change isn’t large enough (from a statistical perspective) to confidently indicate that your knees are getting worse. IF your KOOS increased , - by 10 or more points, your knee(s) are getting better. (Exceptions may arise if you are unable to accurately interpret the signals from your knees due to taking pain-reducing medication, an increased dosage of medication, or recent steroid injections.) - by less than 10 points, the change isn’t large enough (from a statistical perspective) to confidently indicate that your knees are getting better. 5 . Determine the next steps for your knees. Given your goal is building stronger, healthier knees – to eliminate knee pain and your daily and recreational activities – here’s what I recommend : >> When your KOOS difference reveals an increase of 10 points or more – and the above exceptions don’t apply to you – it is clear that what you’ve been doing over the past month has been helping your knees. In this case, keep doing what you’ve been doing . >> When your KOOS difference reveals a decrease of 10 points or more * – and the above exceptions don’t apply to you – you’ll need to alter what you’re doing for your knees. * This is also a good rule of thumb with a decrease of less than 10 points. This may involve altering the type, intensity, or duration of activity and/or exercise . This is similar to perfecting a gourmet recipe. Each one of your activities and exercises is an ingredient. You may need more of one ingredient. Or more of multiple ingredients. You may need less of one ingredient. Or less of multiple ingredients. You may need to add one or more ingredients. Or you may need to swap out one or more ingredients. If you don’t have years of experience successfully building healthier knees, finding the solution can be time-consuming and frustrating. [If you’d like personal guidance to build stronger, healthier knees, I’d be happy to help you. [Click here](https://betterknees.com/services) .] >> When your KOOS difference improves less than 10 points, determining what to do becomes more nuanced. ( [source](https://www.oarsijournal.com/article/S1063-4584(23)00186-3/fulltext#:~:text=A%2010%2Dpoint%20improvement%20in%20the%20Knee%20Injury,define%20a%20successful%20outcome%20in%20clinical%20studies.) ) The lower your initial KOOS score is, especially when it falls closer to 0 than it does to 100, even a 10-point improvement may not give you the confidence that you’re making sufficient improvements. [If this is your situation and you’d like personal guidance, [click here](https://betterknees.com/services) .] If, on the other hand, your initial KOOS score is above 75, you’re more likely to be satisfied with how your knees are improving, even with less than a 10-point improvement. ( [source](https://www.oarsijournal.com/article/S1063-4584(23)00186-3/fulltext#:~:text=A%2010%2Dpoint%20improvement%20in%20the%20Knee%20Injury,define%20a%20successful%20outcome%20in%20clinical%20studies.) ) In this case for you, keep doing what you’ve been doing, and reassess your KOOS in another month. Key Takeaways: - The KOOS provides insights about how your knees are doing right now. - By completing the KOOS questionnaire again after a few weeks have passed, you can determine if your knees are getting better, staying relatively the same, or getting worse. - If you’re unsatisfied with how your knees are doing – if they’re getting worse, staying the same, or not improving as efficiently as you’d like – you may need to alter the type, intensity, or duration or one or more of your activities or exercises. Laurie Kertz Kelly When you’re ready to build [Better Knees](https://betterknees.patientbase.io/services) – with personal guidance : Schedule a free 20-minute [Strategy](https://TheKelseyGroup.as.me/) [Session](https://TheKelseyGroup.as.me/) . (Find your best time [here](https://TheKelseyGroup.as.me/) .) ## Related Articles - [What Is Load Tolerance? The Missing Link in Solving Knee Pain](/blog/load-tolerance-knee-pain) [Learn more about Laurie Kertz Kelly](/about) Disclaimer: The information in this blog post is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose, treat, or prevent any health issue or disease without consulting with a qualified healthcare professional. The author of this blog and the website do not bear any responsibility for any actions taken based on the information provided in this blog.