This condition typically results in pain being felt in the back of the knee and can lead to patellar dislocation in serious cases.
The knee is an extremely complex joint, sometimes a small alteration in form or function to a group of muscles like the patellar tendon can cause increased pressure on the patella, resulting in pain or dislocation if the patella leaves its seat.
This is another condition we can treat surgery-free in most cases, as long as the patient has not suffered repeated knee dislocations. Through physiotherapy exercises in our specialist gym, we can help you recover from this condition, before going beyond your expectations during our on-field rehab process.
Where surgery is required, we are experts at assisting patients’ recovery post-operation. We reduce swelling and inflammation, before building muscular strength, and then helping restore more complex sport-specific movements.
Patella re-alignment surgery
There are three surgeries commonly considered here:
Lateral release: A small section of the external alar ligament is removed and re-inserted arthroscopically into the patella, with the aim of restoring the patella’s normal profile. The effectiveness of this treatment has been questioned, however it is comparatively unaggressive and allows a very rapid post-operative recovery.
Distal realignment: This option is typically chosen in cases of marked misalignment leading to recurrent patellar dislocations. After the surgery, a partial immobilisation period of four weeks is required.
Proximal realignment: This treatment is often chosen for adolescents, where the vastus medialis is harvested to avoid damaging immature bones. The immobilisation period following these surgeries varies from 4-6 weeks.
We are proficient in providing post-surgical rehabilitation regardless of the knee surgery here.
Most patients will start in our sports rehab gym shortly after surgery, either with or without a brace on. Appropriate physiotherapy is actually more important than the surgery itself in these cases. Most patients should expect to be back to normal after around three months.