 Diagnosis & Therapy |
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Doctors |
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Rehabilitation |
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Service |
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 Kneecap |
(dislocation / misplaced knee cap, arthritis)
What does the knee cap do? How does it get damaged?The knee cap is connected to the muscles of the upper leg, and as such plays a key role in flexing and straightening the leg. When you flex your knee, the knee cap slides up and down a "groove" in your upper leg bone - this is usually painless. However, there are three main illnesses that can lead to problems with the knee joint, namely: dislocation of the knee cap, damaged cartilage and arthritis of the knee cap. The two most common manifestations are "slipping down" and "pressing" of the knee cap, which cause degeneration of cartilage. Both conditions are a catch 22 situation in that the resulting inflammation and complications make the cartilage damage even worse, which leads to further cartilage damage, and so on. |
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How can problems with the knee cap be treated?To break the catch 22 loop, we first have to reduce the irritation. This is done by smoothing the cartilage of the knee cap and the groove in your upper leg bone by encouraging the growth of new cartilage with one of the following techniques: 1) abrasion of the cartilage surface, which stimulates the blood supply and thus the growth of new cartilage or 2) transplantation of cartilage cells (your own) to the affected area, which also promotes the growth of new cartilage tissue. Then we reduce the pressure in the joint by re-centering the knee cap with a technique known as lateral release. |
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When will I be back on my feet?Office workers who have cartilage treatment and lateral release can generally go back to work after one or two weeks, as long as they can keep the leg relatively still and propped up. Otherwise you will have to reckon with about eight weeks. |
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Can I play sports again?As with arthritis, this also depends on the quality of the new cartilage growth. Quite a lot of physio is also needed to regain lost muscle tone. However, if both of these criteria are satisfied, you can play sports again at nearly the same level you did before. |
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