Knee pain in Omaha Athletes.

                    CORE Physical Therapy In Omaha Explains…

By Dr. Mark Rathjen PT DPT CSCS

CORE Physical Therapy & Sports Performance PC 

Owner

17660 Wright St.  9/10/11

    Omaha NE

   402-933-4027

What does the research say?

“The available evidence suggests that patients with PFP are best managed with a tailored, multimodal, nonoperative treatment program that includes short-term pain relief with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), passive correction of patellar maltracking with medially directed tape or braces, correction of the dynamic valgus with exercise programs that target the muscles of the lower extremity, hip, and trunk, and the use of foot orthoses in patients with additional foot abnormalities.”

What does that mean?

Basically in a nutshell, this means that treatment for patella femoral pain is multifactorial. It includes decreasing the stimulus that’s causing the irritation, which usually is a lack of knee control because of the hip. Hip weakness is one of the most common reasons for the pain and patella femoral pain. Jump training mechanics, proprioceptive drills, and strengthening and corrective exercises for that particular patient’s weaknesses is vital to restoring the kinematic system of the patella femoral joint and the tracking issues that the kneecap can be experiencing. Because every patient is different, a multi model approach must be very drastic efficient and to the point. This will vary between patients depending on frame size, weaknesses, medical history, genetic component, etc.

What can CORE do for me?

-Dr. Mark

. 2017 Jun 12;8:143-154.

doi: 10.2147/OAJSM.S133406.eCollection 2017.

Patellofemoral pain in athletes

Affiliations

Free PMC article

Abstract

Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is a frequent cause of anterior knee pain in athletes, which affects patients with and without structural patellofemoral joint (PFJ) damage. Most younger patients do not have any structural changes to the PFJ, such as an increased Q angle and a cartilage damage. This clinical entity is known as patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). Older patients usually present with signs of patellofemoral osteoarthritis (PFOA). A key factor in PFPS development is dynamic valgus of the lower extremity, which leads to lateral patellar maltracking. Causes of dynamic valgus include weak hip muscles and rearfoot eversion with pes pronatus valgus. These factors can also be observed in patients with PFOA. The available evidence suggests that patients with PFP are best managed with a tailored, multimodal, nonoperative treatment program that includes short-term pain relief with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), passive correction of patellar maltracking with medially directed tape or braces, correction of the dynamic valgus with exercise programs that target the muscles of the lower extremity, hip, and trunk, and the use of foot orthoses in patients with additional foot abnormalities.

Keywords: anterior knee pain; dynamic valgus; hip strength; rearfoot eversion; single leg squat.