For Kneecap Pain, See a Physical Therapist First

Patello-femoral pain refers to pain around the kneecap, often on the outside or inside. This is usually caused by prolonged, intense training.

Physical therapy is an option.

Numerous scientific studies have shown that physical therapy can be helpful in this situation.

Give us a call if you or someone you care about has knee pain. We may be able to help.

ACL Injuries: Seek out a Physical Therapist first

An anterior cruciate ligament tear or ACL injury are serious knee injury. Surgery was once the only way to function and return to sport.

This is not true. Although surgery may be necessary in some cases, many high-level athletes and others can live with minimal surgery.

If you are suffering from an ACL tear, consider conservative, natural treatment that is first administered by a physical therapist. If this fails, surgery may be necessary.

Here's a good reference: https://web.archive.org/web/20191118190943/https://www.physiospot.com/research/who-succeeds-without-reconstructive-surgery-after-acl-injury/

Here's another about the success of athletes that are ACL deficient: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-12/peter-wallace-played-for-two-years-without-an-acl/9861170

For knee osteoarthritis, see a physical therapist first

A physical therapist should be seen if you have knee osteoarthritis.

The last resort for knee osteoarthritis is surgery. The results of clinical research show that a program designed by a physical therapist is highly effective for many.

References:

Aerobic Exercise is Promising: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28183194

Strengthening Guidelines: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269215517691084

For Knee Cartilage/Meniscus Tears, see a physical therapist first

Once, a degenerative meniscus tear was thought to be a condition that could only be treated with surgery.

Scientists concluded that patients suffering from knee arthritis or meniscus tears do not necessarily require surgery.

Physical therapy should always be the first option. If this fails, surgery may be an option.

Reference:

https://www.niams.nih.gov/newsroom/spotlight-on-research/physical-therapy-treat-torn-meniscus-comparable-surgery-many