Research Articles – Knee

Exercise therapy found to be effective for patients with painful knee condition

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a condition that involves pain in the front and center of the knee that usually comes about from running, climbing/descending stairs or sitting for too long in physically active individuals. Non-surgical, or conservative, treatment such as exercise therapy is often recommended for these patients, but the most effective approach has not yet been defined. For this reason, a study was conducted to determine the effects of an exercise therapy program on patients with PFPS. Results showed that patients experienced improvements in both pain and functional abilities in both the short- and long-term, meaning exercise therapy can be an effective treatment that should be used on PFPS patients.

The benefits of dealing with obesity in patients with knee osteoarthritis

People who suffer from obesity are at an increased risk of obtaining knee osteoarthritis (OA) due to excessive pressure on joints in the knee, and for obese patients who already have the condition, not doing anything about it can lead to further complications. Increased physical activity and dietary modifications with the purpose of losing weight are therefore considered productive methods to prevent knee OA and lessen the severity of pain in those who have it. To highlight these benefits and prompt physicians to encourage weight-loss treatment programs, a study was conducted and published in The Journal of Musculoskeletal Medicine.

How ethnicity affects the willingness to undergo knee replacement surgery

In order to deem if there exists a difference between ethnic groups and the willingness to undergo knee replacement surgery for something like osteoarthritis (OA) knee, researchers surveyed 193 African-Americans, Hispanics and Caucasians on the amount of money they’d be wiling to pay for said surgery. The study found that Caucasians were the most inclined to pay for surgery, followed by Hispanics, and then by African-Americans.