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Biological Causes of Anterior Knee Pain

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Book cover Anterior Knee Pain and Patellar Instability

Abstract

Despite an abundance of clinical and basic science research, anterior knee pain syndrome or patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) remains, according to John Insall, an orthopedic “enigma” (“Black hole of Ortho­pedics”). The numerous treatment regimes that exist for PFPS highlight the lack of knowledge regarding the etiology of the pain. At present, no theory provides a comprehensive explanation of the true nature of this pathologic condition or how to hasten its resolution in a safe and reliable way. This chapter reviews the literature and synthesizes our research on anterior knee pain pathophysiology. This topic is clinically relevant because patient management will be greatly simplified when we understand what the causes are for anterior knee pain in the young patient.

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Notes

  1. 1.

     We define patellofemoral malalignment (PFM) as an abnor­mality of the patellar tracking in the sense of lateral displacement of the patella or lateral tilt of the patella or both in extension that is reduced in flexion

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Patellofemoral Study Group, International ACL Study Group, Hospital 9 de Octubre, Hospital Arnau de Vilanova, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain

    Vicente Sanchis-Alfonso

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  1. Vicente Sanchis-Alfonso
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  2. Esther Roselló-Sastre
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  3. Juan Saus-Mas
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  4. Fernando Revert-Ros
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Correspondence to Vicente Sanchis-Alfonso .

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  1. Depto. Cirugia Ortopédica, Hospital Arnau de Vilanova, c/San Clemente 12, Valencia, 46015, Spain

    Vicente Sanchis-Alfonso

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Sanchis-Alfonso, V., Roselló-Sastre, E., Saus-Mas, J., Revert-Ros, F. (2011). Biological Causes of Anterior Knee Pain. In: Sanchis-Alfonso, V. (eds) Anterior Knee Pain and Patellar Instability. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-507-1_3

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