Knee Problems
Anterior knee pain and spinal dysfunction
in adolescence. Sweating RC, Fowler C, Crocker B, J of Manual
Medicine 1989; 4:65-668.
This is a review of 260 patients presenting
with knee pain in a general orthopaedic practice. It was
revealed that 16 cases (6% of the total) had similar clinical
features with peripheral muscle weakness associated with
segmental spinal dysfunction.
Chiropractic side-posture adjustments
resulted in immediate strengthening of the weak muscles. Full
resolution of the knee problems were seen to require 3-6 weeks
of care. Midlumbar somatic dysfunction was seen as a potential
cause of some cases of knee pain.
Conservative lower back treatment
reduces inhibition in knee extensor muscles: a randomized controlled
trial. Suter E, McMorland G, Herzog W, et al. Journal of Manipulative
and Physiological Therapeutics Feb 2000:23(2), pp.76-80.
Twenty-eight
patients with anterior knee pain (AKP) were randomly assigned
to receive chiropractic care or no care (control group). The
chiropractic care was designed to correct SI-joint dysfunction.
Before and after care, knee-extensor moments, muscle inhibition
(MI), and muscle activation during full effort and isometric
knee extensions were measured.
Patients showed substantial MI in both legs. Functional assessment
revealed SI-joint dysfunction in all subjects (23 symptomatic
and 5 asymptomatic). After care, a significant decrease in
MI of 7.5% was observed in the involved legs of the adjusted
group. MI did not change in the contralateral legs of the
treatment group or the involved and contralateral legs of
the control group. The results of this study suggest that
SI-joint manipulation reduces knee-extensor MI. Spinal manipulation
may possibly be an effective treatment of MI in the lower
limb musculature. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2000;23:76–80)
Conservative treatment of torn medial meniscus via mechanical
force, manually assisted short lever chiropractic adjusting
procedures. Polkinghorn BS. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics, September 1994; 17(7): 474-484.
This is the case
of a 54 year-old woman complaining of right knee pain for
several months. She was diagnosed with a tear in the posterior
horn of the ipsilateral medial meniscus and this was confirmed
by MRI.
Instead of surgery, the patient agreed to try chiropractic
care. The patient received 23 adjustments over 11 months.
A chiropractic adjusting instrument was used and resulted
in the complete resolution of the patient’s disability,
with full function of the knee returning. More research is
necessary in this area. The author cautions that due to the
length of time under care, the patient could simply have
had a spontaneous resolution.
Case report: upper cervical adjusting
for knee pain. Brown M and Vaillancourt P. Chiropractic Research
Journal 1993. Vol. 2 No. 3.
This is the case study of a 35-year-old
male patient suffering from chronic knee pain after dislocating
his knee playing football 15 years earlier.
The patient was
symptom free after initial chiropractic care and in 1991 was
in a car accident and received a whiplash injury. The knee
began to swell and lose range of motion, stability and strength
and patient described chronic, sharp and deep stabbing knee
pain. After a medical examination, knee surgery was considered.
The
patient was adjusted using The Grostic Technique, a method
of upper cervical analysis and atlas adjusting. Adjusting atlas
only, the patient was relieved from his chronic knee pain.
It is hypothesized that the atlas subluxation can cause a functional
short leg which in turn can affect the function of a knee joint.
Effectiveness
of chiropractic management for patellofemoral pain syndrome’s
symptomatic control phase: a single subject experiment. Meyer,
JJ, Zachman, ZJ, Keating JC, Traina AD. Journal of Manipulative
and Physiological Therapeutics Vol 13 No. 9 November/December
1990
This is the case of a patient with bilateral knee pain.
Care consisted of long axis tibiofemoral adjustment, passive
patellofemoral mobilization, and continuous ultrasound. After
about four weeks of care “reliable and demonstrable
changes in the patient’s signs and symptoms” occurred.
Copyright
2004 Koren Publications, Inc. & Tedd Koren,
D.C.