I've been following the research on exercise and patellofemoral pain syndrome. I see they are now saying I need to strengthen the muscles around my hip, not just the knee. Can I do these at the same t
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I have knee pain from patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). I'm seeing a Physical Therapist who has tested me and put me on an exercise program. One of the tests was to step down from a stair and back
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Our 16-year-old daughter was just diagnosed with patellofemoral pain syndrome. What can you tell us about this? Was she born with it? Or is she doing something wrong in her exercise routines that have
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Years ago, I had an odd type of meniscal tear. It was the back outside corner of the meniscus in my left knee. I also blew out my ACL in the same knee at the same time. It's been 10-years and that kne
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I had a meniscus that was repaired arthroscopically five years ago. I'm just checking to see how long they think this repair job will last me. Different studies report success rates that vary from 70
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After tearing my ACL during an off-road motorcycling event, I decided to start wearing a brace on that knee. Which one do you recommend? When it comes to wearing braces prophylactically (as a preventi
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When I was 16, I tore the medial meniscus in my right knee and had it surgically removed. I've had knee problems ever since. Now my 17-year-old son has done the same thing. Will he be doomed to arthri
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I tweaked my MCL playing soccer twice so I went to see a Doctor and was told it would heal on its own and to give it some time. Is really the best advice. Should I wear a brace? Will I need surgery? T
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How does the strap work that athletes wear around their knees? I'm not an athlete but my knees hurt and I'm wondering if something like this would help me.
I tore my left ACL during a downhill snowboard accident. I've heard that once the ACL has been injured, there's always an increased risk it could happen again. Is there any way to keep this from happe
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What's the best way to treat housemaid's knee? I'm afraid I have a bad case of it from playing with my grandchildren on the floor. Housemaid's knee is a term sometimes still used to describe bursitis.
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What can you tell me about having an osteotomy for half-knee arthritis? Will it do any good? Can I really get some new cartilage to grow on the damaged half with this operation? Knee arthritis affecti
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How is it possible to strengthen muscles to take the place of a torn ligament? I went through a three month rehab program for a torn MCL that worked like a charm. But I still don't get how a muscle ca
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I am a soccer player who plays rugby as a "weekend warrior." I don't want to trash my knees playing rugby because soccer is really my first choice of activities. Is there any benefit to wearing one of
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I fell down the stairs and tore my left ACL. Since I didn't go in right away for surgery, I ended up with an unusual tear of my meniscus called a "ramp" tear. How often do these happen and why did I g
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I have dislocated my kneecap twice now. Each time it has popped right back in so I haven't had any surgery -- just a brace and therapy. Based on what you know for other people with this problem, what
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Our daughter dislocated her knee cap for the first time during slow pitch. She wants to get right back in the game. The orthopedic surgeon is saying six weeks of a brace or splint first. How is this k
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I have knee osteoarthritis. I'd like to do whatever I can that doesn't involve drugs or surgery for as long as possible. What do you suggest? Today physicians understand and try to teach their patient
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What is a medial patellofemoral ligament injury? And how is it treated? A little bit of anatomy will help explain this injury. Let's start with the patella -- more commonly known as the "kneecap". The
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I keep dislocating my left kneecap. I've tried exercise, taping, yoga, and kinesiotherapy but nothing keeps it from popping out. What's next? You may be a good candidate for surgery but it's best to s
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I might need an ACL repair job. The tipping point in deciding is whether or not I want to continue playing sports hard. I'm just a recreational athlete, so it's not like I'm losing millions of dollars
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What is a sleeve fracture of the knee? You are probably not familiar with the term sleeve fracture of the patella (kneecap) because this is a very rare injury. Of all the bone breaks children have, t
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I had my ACL repaired two years ago and just reinjured it again. My surgeon wants me to try Physical Therapy for a few months. If that doesn't work, I can have surgery again. Can they repair this a se
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I tore my anterior cruciate ligament doing something as simple as gardening. The doctor thought it was probably ready to go and almost anything could have caused the rupture. I'm older so I've put off
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I'm looking at having surgery done to repair (or possibly remove) the meniscus in my right knee. They think only the inside edge is damaged but we'll find out after they take a look. What kind of ther
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I'm getting the impression that when you have a torn knee meniscus, it's always better to have it repaired, rather than removed. What are the success rates with meniscal repair versus removal? Over th
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My knee has a hole in the cartilage. I gather there are all kinds of ways to treat the problem. I can either have it repaired or they can replace the cartilage. What works best? Damage to the articula
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I have a torn meniscus in my knee confirmed by MRI. Can I avoid surgery and just do some kind of knee exercises until it heals on its own? There's a lot of confusion right now about the best treatment
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I was with my elderly aunt when she tore her knee meniscus. She was just crossing the street with me and pop goes the weasel! The doctor says these things can happen just like that but there must be a
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I'm the only one in a family of eight children who has a knee problem called patellofemoral pain syndrome. We are all involved in sports of some kind. What am I doing wrong that I have this problem bu
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If I lost weight, would it have any effect on my knee pain? I've been told I have something called patellofemoral pain syndrome. I'm 16 years old and probably 65 pounds over weight. Patellofemoral Syn
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I injured my knee. The MRI showed damage to the posterolateral corner. What can I expect if I don't have the surgery recommended by the doctor? The posterolateral corner (PLC) of the knee designates a
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I was in a car accident and ended up with an uncommon knee injury called a posterolateral corner. I like to play competitive sports. Will I be able to get back to these activities once this heals up?
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I've been told that with the new minimally invasive knee replacements, there's less blood loss, a lower risk of infection, and faster discharge from the hospital. Is that true? Anyone thinking about h
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Can you give me a summary of what's happening with cartilage repair for knees these days? I have what's considered a full-thickness defect in the joint cartilage of my right knee.
I had a procedure called a mosaicplasty to plug a hole in my knee cartilage. I'm not sure it really worked. It's been six months and I still have pain and swelling in that knee -- enough to interfere
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I am a 20-year-old competitive gymnast. I have a serious hole in the left knee cartilage that needs repair. I'm wondering if my sex (female) and my sports participation in gymnastics are in my favor o
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Ten years ago, I tore my ACL. I didn't have insurance at the time, so I waited five years before I had the surgery to repair the problem. Everything seems to be working out but I always wonder if that
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I'm weighing the pros and cons of having surgery for an unstable knee. The surgeon is proposing reconstructing the torn ACL and repairing the meniscus. I've been told that without this operation, I co
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I'm 72-years old but still very active. The problem is my left knee has a hole in the cartilage that's been there 10 years or more. My young grandson had some kind of surgery where they put new cartil
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Mother complains about her aching arthritic knees. We can even hear them creaking when she stands up. Her doctor keeps telling her to stay active and exercise. But how can she when she hurts so much?
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Surgeons in Sweden began performing cartilage repair procedures called autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) back in 1987. More than 20 years have passed since then. That's time enough to check b
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My 16 year old son is a long-distance runner. He started having a lot of knee pain and his doctor said it was Runners Knee and prescribed rest. What is it and is there anything else he can do for it?
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I think I may have torn a cartilage in my knee. What are the symptoms? If you feel you have injured the cartilage in your knee, it is important to have this checked by a doctor. Self-diagnosis could l
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I had surgery to reconstruct the ligament on the inside of my knee. When can I return to hockey?
I have a grade III (ruptured) medial collateral ligament of my knee. The surgeon wants me to go to PT for rehab and I think I really need surgery. Would other surgeons agree with this recommendation?
I'm looking into the possibility of putting off a knee replacement by either having an osteotomy done or a unicompartmental knee replacement. Which one is a better choice?
I have a painful knee from damage to the articular cartilage. What do you recommend for surgical treatment?
I have a full-thickness tear in the cartilage covering my knee joint. The surgeon says they can can do an operation and take some of my healthy cartilage and patch it up nearly as good as new. Will my
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I've had two surgeries so far for a full-thickness cartilage defect in my right knee. The results have been disappointing as I can't do any of the fun sport activities I like. Someone suggested a knee
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Please help -- I am completely freaked by the fact that my new ACL is infected. Will I lose it? What will happen if I do? Don't panic. If you are under the care of a surgeon, the graft site can often
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Q: My 18-year-old son is in need of an ACL reconstruction. The surgeon laid out all of the different choices -- hamstring tendon graft, patellar tendon graft and choosing from using his own tissue or
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Is it ever too late to have surgery for a hole in the knee cartilage? I'm 43 and too young for a knee replacement but is there something else they can do for this before my entire knee is torn up with
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Our 14-year-old daughter was involved in figure skating. She ended up with an ACL tear that required surgery. Despite our concerns, she went back to practice before she was done with the rehab program
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When I was in my 20s, I tore up my anterior cruciate ligament pretty bad. After surgery, I ended up with a wide, wrinkly, ugly scar that measures eight inches long. I'm almost 40 now and I recently sa
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I've been newly diagnosed with knee osteoarthritis. I've been on-line all day looking for some sound advice. There's so much out there, I don't know where to start. What do you advise? The American Ac
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I need a little advice. I'm 42-years-old and I tore my ACL skiing. I'm pretty much ready to hang it up anyway, so I'm wondering if I really need to do all the exercises the therapist has given me. I j
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I've been going to a rehab facility for training after having an ACL repair on my left knee six weeks ago. I'm very eager to get back into full sports participation (I'm on the volley ball team and cr
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I'm wondering something about a unilateral knee replacement. It's been almost a year since I had this procedure done on my right leg, and I still can't go up and down stairs easily. Will this graduall
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What's the latest on taking glucosamine for knee arthritis? One health magazine says, Take it, an article in today's newspaper says, Don't bother. Which is it? Despite all the media hype around taking
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I am a 13 year old girl with knee pain that only goes away when I sit and do nothing. The doctor says I have osteochondritis dissecans. I looked this up on-line and found out it's from an injury or re
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I'm not a super athlete but I do like to compete in several areas such as soccer, cross country, and tennis. I notice whenever it's soccer season, I seem to have the most problem with my patellar tend
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What kind of treatment is prescribed for osteochondritis of the knee if surgery isn't done? Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a problem that affects the knee, mostly at the end of the big bone of the
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I tore my left ACL completely in a weird accident while out golfing with my kids. Since I'm not really all that active (and I am admittedly overweight), the surgeon recommended physical therapy instea
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My knees seem to be kinda wobbly. I never know when they are going to go out from underneath me. Are there some exercises I can do to get them back in shape? Quite frankly, I'm worried about taking a
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Mother seems to be awfully stiff in the mornings. Once we get her up and moving, she seems to do much better. She does have some knee pain, but it's the stiffness that really holds her back. What can
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