Keywords Wearable technology, exercise medicine, joint arthroplasty Introduction In 2015, I wrote a BJSM Blog on “Deciding when it is time to have a knee replacement”,[1] arguing for a shift away from using structural markers to assess need for knee replacement (such as X-ray and MRI) to objective functional markers. I suggested a cut off […]
Tag: knee
Concern for knee joint damage should not influence the choice of treatment strategy in young patients with meniscal tears.
Keywords: Knee, meniscal tear, structural damage This blog is based on a recent study exploring differences in structural knee joint damage [1]. Why is this study important? Recently, two randomized trials compared a strategy of early meniscal surgery to a strategy of exercise therapy with the option of later surgery (if needed) in young active […]
Can physical therapy reduce the use of opioids in people with knee pain?
Keywords: knee pain, osteoarthritis, opioids, physical therapy, exercise In this blog, we explain the findings from our recent study on the relation of timing of physical therapy initiation after a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis with risk of opioid use in the future (1). Why is this study important? Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause […]
Mind the Soft Tissue Gap – “Acute Knee Injuries”
By Dr Irfan Ahmed (T: @Irfan_sem) Over the last week, I have had time to reflect on the twitter feedback from my first blog. I must confess to feeling slightly overwhelmed, the “#softtissuegap” is trending, and has certainly outgrown its initial aim. One thread debated ‘if SEM should focus on acute care, secondary MSK clinics or even […]
How physiotherapists can contribute to decision making: a proposal for a PT treatment pathway for knee osteoarthritis
By Afxentios Kekelekis @afxentios Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause for knee pain and disability worldwide.1Approximately 25% of people aged over 60 years experience knee pain from degenerative knee disease.2 Risk factors for knee OA are multifactorial and include age, previous knee injury, female gender, obesity, diabetes, sedentary life, and psychosocial agents.1The most traditionally […]
Does body weight matter when it comes to the patellofemoral joint?
By Harvi F. Hart, PhD, @harvihart; and Kay M. Crossley, PT, PhD,@kaymcrossley As a society, we know that excess body weight is not good for our health. It increases the risk of an array of physical and mental health conditions such as hypertension, type II diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, depression, and anxiety. […]
Synthetics ligaments in the knee: Deja vu or innovation ?
By Lars Engebretsen MD, PhD. Are you old enough to remember these orthopedic implants: GoreTex, Dacron, Polyester, Polypropylen, or carbon fibers? Let me remind you that these were not raincoats, mountaineering apparel or shoelaces— they were knee ligament substitutes! I am old enough to have tried these as substitutes for torn ACL or PCL, or augmentations […]
What can we learn from Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s knee injury? Focus on PCL implications
The PCL gets much less attention than its anterior partner. What might be going through Zlatan’s mind? If we start with a player who has suffered an isolated mild to moderate (Grade I-II) PCL injury, we find the player can do well with quality physiotherapy reahabilitation because because surgical reconstruction tends to improve the grade of […]
All roads lead to Rome – Running a marathon on ACL injured knees
By Catherine Lester I ran my first marathon in Rome in April, albeit slowly. I had never run further than 10km as of December last year. My dad asked me if I was sure I should be running – in 2008 I injured my left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL) and both […]
Cutting sporting Australians to their knees: time for more investment in sports injury prevention
By David Hunter, Florance and Cope Professor of Rheumatology Australians’ passion for their favourite sporting pursuits is almost unmatched by any other country throughout the world. We pride ourselves on our sporting heritage and the records that our minnow sized population has been able to achieve in an ever expanding sporting world. Not detracting from the importance […]