Friday, September 11, 2020
The team at OrthoCincy says with so many of us having been sedentary for months in this pandemic, they are seeing a lot of injuries now as people start to pick up activity levels.
One area especially troublesome for many: knees. Dr. James Stefanski, an orthopedic surgeon, says many people are coming in with tears in their meniscus and overuse injuries.
"Patellofemoral syndrome, IT band tightness, they haven't stretched in ages," said Dr. Stefanski. "That's pain in the front of the kneecap due to either alignment issues or due to tightness around the kneecap area that forces it and causes inflammation and irritation.
"It most commonly occurs in people who are prone to development because of the way their alignment is; either they might be a little knock-kneed or their femur bone rotates out a little bit in a way that puts additional pressure on it. It bothers you going up and down stairs, after sitting for long periods of time, and it can be really troublesome."
Dr. Stefanski says fixing this problem can vary. It can be anything from a stretching and strengthening program, working on your quads or getting injections. Occasionally, it needs surgery and that depends on the underlying cause.
If this sounds like a concern you might have, you can reach out to OrthoCincy.