Knee
The knee is critical to daily life, and most people are likely to undergo some kind of knee pain or knee injury at some point. With the knee joint consisting of cartilage, fluid, ligaments, and bone, there are few joints more complex than the knee joint, making it susceptible to injury. Our specialists at Southwest Orthopedic Group are ready to handle a host of knee conditions, trained and equipped to provide a variety of treatments.
Conditions
Knee Arthritis: Arthritis of the knee happens when the bones making up the knee joint develop growths and begin to thicken. This can occur due to injury, weight gain, old age, or certain illnesses.
Hamstring Muscle Injuries: If you experience a sudden shock of pain along the backside of your thigh, you might have picked up a hamstring muscle injury. This is common amongst dancers and athletes who perform sudden and powerful movements on their hamstrings. Fortunately, surgery is not required for a majority of hamstring tears or strains.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tear: Occurring amongst athletes and other active individuals, the ACL tear is unable to heal on its own, and requires some form of treatment, surgical and non-surgical. This tear can be partial or complete, depending on the amount of energy involved in the twist or hyperextension of the knee.
Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) Tear: Many cases of PCL tears are left undetected, with individuals suffering from mild to moderate knee pain, knee instability, and knee swelling before getting checked. These tears are caused by a rough impact on the shinbone during a twisting motion of the leg, and most commonly occur during sports and car crashes.
Meniscus Tear: When the knee twists while the foot is planted (such as an extreme pivoting or cutting motion during sports), a meniscus tear can sometimes occur. Those with a torn meniscus will hear a pop when it happens and experience tightness, pain, and swelling for days.
Osgood-Schlatter Disease (Knee Pain): This disease is actually an injury caused by overuse, commonly seen amongst athletes of jumping and running sports. This knee pain is more likely to be seen in children and adolescents, and can be treated without the use of surgery.
Patellar Tendon Tear: This part of the leg is the connection between the leg and the kneecap. The patellar tendon tears partially or completely, due to rough impact against the knee during jumping or running. This is most common amongst the middle-aged.
Sports Injuries: The knee is susceptible to many injuries while playing sports, due to the twisting, bending, and pivoting motions involved at high speeds and strong impacts.
Work Injuries: Knee-related work injuries are commonly cases of overuse, and should be treated before long-term symptoms can set in.
Patellofemoral Syndrome (Kneecap Problems): Also known as Chondromalacia patellae or runner’s knee, patellofemoral syndrome is experienced when the cartilage that cushions the kneecap softens up from overuse or trauma, causing kneecap pain.
Treatments
ACL Repair: Before an ACL repair surgery, patients will be required to undergo physical therapy to loosen the knee. ACL repair surgery aims to rebuild the knee joint, replacing the current, injured ACL with a graft.
PCL Repair: PCL repair aims to return functionality to the PCL, to secure the stability and mobility of the knee and help avoid more injury.
Meniscus Repair: Meniscus repair surgery is done for tears involving the inner areas of the meniscus, or extreme outer tears.
Total Knee Replacement: This procedure consists of replacing the patient’s knee with an artificial joint, and is only done for the most extreme cases.
Orthopedic Trauma and Treatment: Trauma surgery can be challenging and difficult, and requires trauma surgeons that are trained to handle more extreme cases that deal with complex fractures. These injuries and treatments include hip fractures, post-traumatic reconstruction, arthroscopic repair, and more.
Knee Arthroscopy: This procedure gives surgeons the chance to look directly into a knee joint, to better understand, diagnose, and treat knee-related conditions.
Partial Knee Replacement: When parts of the knee are damaged beyond rehabilitation, partial knee replacement is done to replace the damaged parts of the knee with metal and/or plastic parts.
MyKnee Patient-Matched Knee Replacements: We offer the MyKnee solution for certain patients. This involves the production of a plastic 3D model of your specific knee, creating a surgical instrument best suited to fit or replace your knee.
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