knee cap dislocation, i'm new here and would like some help please : )

[sable81]

ok thanks fo your advice, i see that there really is no definate answer, i will just have to ride it out and see how it goes.

i'm 27 and have dislocated the other knee as well, my sister has problems with both knees too, and has had operations on both, and my dad has problems with his knees and also had operations in the past, i do get pain everyday, and have the giving way where i can feel the kneecap slip a little bit and then lock back in,although this doesn't happen everyday, i've been doing lots of different exercises to correct posture and improve my balance, stretch my hamstrings build up my quad area, i was told that for it to dislocate so easy must have been the weakness in my surrounding muscles, and not so much the abnormality in my knee.

would the fact that i cannot get my leg to starighten up comfortably, and push the knee back be due to the fact that my hamstrings are tight? even though i do hamstring stretches everyday?

my physio seems to be reluctant in getting a second opinion, even though he says i may need one pretty much everytime i see him, i dunno if this is just an nhs thing because of resources and waiting times.

anyway thanks for your help.

[smshaffe]

sounds like you may have a family predisposition to this. it could be a genetic thing, maybe bone shape etc. but, is it the same problem everyone has? the same knee cap dislocation? there are lots of knee problems and it is hard to say that just because you all have a knee problem it is all the same one.

if you dislocate that frequently it is not likely a knee muscle weakness problem. the muscles don't hold the knee cap in place. that happens by the "passive structures" such as bone and ligament. the biggest issue is usually the depth of the groove on the femur that the patella slides in and out of. many, many people have weak muscles and their knee caps don't dislocation. in fact, strengthening the surround muscles only helps a little bit. it is becoming an old idea these days for this sort of problem. in fact, i bet you haven't gotten too much better (less frequent dislocation with the same level of activity participation) since you began stretching the hamstring and strengthening the quad.

what kind of operation did your sister have and did it help her problem? is that the same problem you have? i ask the same questions about your dad?

you asked: "would the fact that i cannot get my leg to starighten up comfortably, and push the knee back be due to the fact that my hamstrings are tight? even though i do hamstring stretches everyday?" no. what position are you doing this in? sitting with your legs straight in front of you? standing? is the knee cap literally getting stuck out on the outside of your knee as opposed to being in the front? typically most knee caps slide back in very easily when they are dislocated.

you said: "my physio seems to be reluctant in getting a second opinion, even though he says i may need one pretty much everytime i see him, i dunno if this is just an nhs thing because of resources and waiting times." sounds like your physio isn't good at making a solid decision and sticking to it. are you getting better? if not, you should get a second option (doctor, physio, or otherwise). i don't know anything about the nhs.