Patient Resources

When you're looking for evaluation and treatment of your patellofemoral problem, it can be very helpful to find a provider with special interest and expertise in this area. Often the history of your problem and a careful physical examination as well as basic tests like x-rays can provide all the clues that are necessary to provide helpful and complete treatment, commonly without surgery. You should expect your provider to listen carefully to how the problem began, to understand what makes it better or worse and to examine you carefully. Usually in the initial stages of your evaluation and treatment, it will be possible to find someone locally with such expertise and interest. The principles of such an evaluation can be found elsewhere on this website. We encourage you to study and understand these. Your own personal understanding will help you to comply with treatment recommendations and will increase the success of your care.

However, in some situations where the problem is particularly complex or perhaps when there have been previous unsuccessful surgeries, evaluation and treatment by physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons with a special interest in patellofemoral problems can be crucial to accurate diagnosis and treatment. For such situations, we have included below a list of providers with particular expertise and interest in patellofemoral problems.