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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Painful knees in older patients: radionuclide diagnosis of possible osteonecrosis with spontaneous resolution.

The syndrome of osteonecrosis of the femur at the knee presents as sudden onset of knee pain in elderly patients. It is classically associated with a subchondral radiolucency and a positive radionuclide bone scan. The lesion may progress to collapse of the bone. In this report, twelve cases are described in which the clinical entity of osteonecrosis of the femoral condyle was diagnosed because the patients had a clinical picture identical to that of osteonecrosis and also had positive bone scans. However, roentgenographic changes supposedly diagnostic of the condition were not seen. In twelve patients, arthrotomy was avoided. They became asymptomatic and their bone scans returned to normal in a few months.

Age Factors

Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and Individualized Physical Therapy on Pain and Function in Individuals With Chronic Knee Pain: A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Noninvasive brain stimulation is a promising neuromodulatory intervention for chronic pain. This study aimed to determine the impact that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) in combination with individualized physical therapy (PT) has on pain and function in individuals with chronic knee pain. METHODS: This study was a preliminary pragmatic, triple-blinded, randomized, and sham-controlled clinical trial performed in an outpatient orthopedic physical therapy clinic. Participants participated in 5 sessions of active or sham tDCS followed by individualized PT intervention. Pain outcomes included the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, Movement-Evoked Pain, pressure pain thresholds (PPT), and the Central Sensitization Inventory. Functional outcomes included the 2-minute walk test, 5-time sit-to-stand test, quadriceps strength, knee range of motion, Patient Specific Functional Scale, and the Lower Extremity Functional Scale. RESULTS: Thirty participants with chronic knee pain completed the study. There were no significant differences observed for primary patient-centered pain and functional outcomes. For secondary outcomes, the active tDCS group had a significant effect (p&#xa0;<&#xa0;0.05) on percent change in lateral joint line PPT and a significant multivariate effect of group on PPT change scores for 3-site and 5-site clusters (p&#xa0;<&#xa0;0.05). Exploratory responder analyses demonstrated that the active tDCS group was 12.8 times more likely to achieve the minimum detectable change in quadriceps strength improvement compared with the sham tDCS group (p&#xa0;<&#xa0;0.05). DISCUSSION: There were no significant between-group differences for primary pain and functional outcomes. However, the active tDCS group showed improvements in pain sensitivity, as measured by PPT, and quadriceps strength, which were superior to those seen in the sham tDCS group. These preliminary findings provide insight into possible mechanisms of tDCS in addressing pain as opposed to efficacy. Given that there were no clear between-group differences in patient-centered outcomes, there is insufficient evidence for routine tDCS use for chronic knee pain. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT06132412.

Humans

Osteoid osteoma as a cause of knee pain in the young athlete: a case study.

Knee problems are frequently seen in young athletes. It is important for the examining physician to be mindful of the complex differential diagnosis of knee pain in the adolescent, and not presume a traumatic origin of this pain. A case of osteoid osteoma of the distal medial condylar epiphysis of the femur in a 15-year-old athletic male, who presented with limitation of extension of the knee and medial joint pain and swelling, which could easily be misinterpreted as internal derangement, is discussed as an example of this problem.

Adolescent

Knee pain in runners.

Of 149 runners seen with knee pain, 60 had common orthopedic problems as the cause. Eighty-nine had recurring pain but few or no classic findings. These runners were divided into four groups depending on localization of the pain. Gait mechanical problems were identified and treatment regimens developed. Questionnaires were returned by 40 runners who fit into these four pain groups. Treatment by injections, anti-inflammatory agents, and advice to rest or stop running had produced only temporary results. Correction of biomechanical problems related to running relieved or improved the pain in 37 of 40 patients.

Adolescent

Systemic biomarkers of treatment response to methotrexate in people with painful knee osteoarthritis: A biological substudy of the PROMOTE randomised controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Stratification of therapeutic responses may help identify efficacious therapies for osteoarthritis (OA). In the PROMOTE randomised trial, participants with elevated baseline high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) showed greater pain reduction after methotrexate treatment. We set out to interrogate a broader panel of serum/plasma inflammatory response markers relevant to methotrexate actions as potential biomarkers of therapeutic effect. Our objectives were to: (i) characterize changes in these systemic markers during methotrexate treatment; determine whether (ii) baseline levels or (iii) changes in any marker during treatment were associated with treatment response; and (iv) compare these findings with the more established clinical inflammatory marker, hs-CRP. DESIGN: Plasma/serum samples from participants in PROMOTE's biological substudy were analysed for 35 inflammatory markers at baseline (pre-treatment) and at 6-months (post-treatment), by MesoScale V-plex multiplex assay. Those with paired biological and clinical data at both baseline and 6-months were included in the substudy analysis set. Relationships between markers and overall data structure were assessed by Pearson correlation and Principal Component analysis. Associations between markers (baseline levels or change over time) and change in average knee pain severity in past week (numerical rating scale, NRS) were evaluated by univariable linear regression, adjusting for baseline age, sex, and body mass index. Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression with bootstrap resampling enabled marker selection. Benjamini-Hochberg correction adjusted for multiple testing (Padj). RESULTS: 87 participants with paired blood marker and clinical data were eligible for substudy analysis. 18/35 markers were quantifiable and analysed. Systemic IL-8 and TNF-&#x3b1; levels decreased (Padj=0.015, 0.048 respectively) while IL-15 increased (Padj=0.033) with methotrexate treatment over 6-months. Analysing within this active treatment randomised arm, higher baseline IFN-&#x3b3; was associated with greater reduction in NRS pain change (0.66 [0.01, 1.31], P=0.047), as was decreasing TNF-&#x3b1; over 6-months (2.25 [0.00, 4.5], P=0.049). LASSO identified higher IFN-&#x3b3;, lower plasma IL-15 and IL-16, and younger age as the most important baseline predictors of pain improvement. hs-CRP was highly selected by LASSO for treatment response in both arms. In a secondary univariate treatment arm-by-biomarker interaction analysis, of the 19 markers, only hs-CRP showed consistent effects in adjusted models (at baseline, coeffic. 2.34 [0.53, 4.15], P=0.001; change over 6-months, (0.36 [0.06, 0.66], P=0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Blood measurement of IFN-&#x3b3;, TNF-&#x3b1;, IL-15 and IL-16 as well as hs-CRP could act as potential markers to stratify the treatment response by average knee pain to methotrexate in knee osteoarthritis.

Humans

Semimembranosus insertion syndrome: a treatable and frequent cause of persistent knee pain.

The semimembranosus insertion syndrome causes pain at the medial aspect of the knee. This pain is aggravated by exercise, walking downstairs and sharp bending of the knee. The patient experiences tender, moderately puffy swelling at the lowest part of the medial hamstrings muscles and painful passive rotation of the knee, while finger pressure over the insertion of the semimembranosus tendon elicits sharp pain. One hundred patients with semimembranosus insertion syndrome were treated with local injection of lidocaine hydrochloride and triamcinolone. All experienced temporary relief of pain immediately. Long-lasting relief of signs and symptoms was achieved in 58 patients, 30 of whom required repeat injections in 3 to 5 months. Pain decreased and disability was less severe in 9 other patients. There were 18 treatment failure, and 15 patients were lost to follow-up.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones

The painful knee.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Adolescent

The clinical response of 328 private patients to acupuncture therapy.

It is the attempt of this study to determine the efficacy of response to acupuncture at 24 hours, one week, and three week intervals at the end of a series of treatments in 328 patients. Treated for a variety of disorders, approximately 60% had satisfactory responses of up to 3 weeks duration. The 328 patients were classified into 13 categories of problem disorders: headaches, cervical pain, lumbar pain without radiation, lumbar pain with radiation, isolated sciatica, parathoracic pain, knee pain, elbow pain, shoulder pain, gereralized musculoskeletal pains (rheumatism), neurological disorders, and a general miscellaneous category. The problem disorders were then arranged into etiological categories. In general for each problem disorder, except for neurological, the average response ranged in the 60-65% range at the third week interval.

Acupuncture Therapy

Orthopaedic pitfalls.

When presented with an orthopaedic problem, rational management cannot occur without a reasonable diagnosis. Such a diagnosis can only be made by listening to the patient's history, and by examining him with a clear knowledge of important and relevant anatomy. Such relevant anatomy has been outlined in order to make sense of the symptom complexes in: --arm pain --knee pain --back pain without sciatica --back pain with sciatica The behaviour of collagen, which takes three weeks to heal and at least three weeks more to strengthen, is the basis of rational treatment of ligamentous injuries. Advice is given on specific situations to avoid the pitfalls of treatment which is too much, too little, too late or too soon.

Back Pain

Biosafety and efficacy of Kv7 activating rdHSV-CA8&#x2217; analgesic gene therapy for chronic pain via the intra-articular route in mice.

Chronic pain remains a global health challenge, often resistant to available treatments with socioeconomic and psychological burdens. All chronic pain is believed due to neuronal signaling imbalances, resulting in increased excitability. Gene therapy represents a promising molecular therapy targeting molecular pain processing pathways, by offering precise, localized, long-lasting neuromodulation while minimizing systemic exposure and side effects. In model systems, replication-defective, disease-free, herpes simplex virus (rdHSV) gene therapy expressing an analgesic carbonic anhydrase-8 (CA8&#x2217;) peptide variant corrects somatosensory hyperexcitability by activating Kv7 voltage-gated potassium channels, produces profound, long-lasting analgesia and treats chronic pain from knee osteoarthritis (OA). In these studies, we provide the first non-glucagon-like peptide (GLP) biosafety, efficacy, biodistribution, shedding, and histopathology examination of this rdHSV-CA8&#x2217;. Naive mice were examined for clinical safety, biodistribution across all major tissues, knee histopathology, and analgesic efficacy via the intra-articular knee route of administration. We observed no signs of persistent toxicity, viral genomes remained where they were injected, and there was no evidence of shedding. Profound analgesia persisted for 6 months without functional impairments. These initial biosafety and efficacy data support further development of rdHSV-CA8&#x2217; for treating chronic knee pain due to moderate to severe OA.

Animals

Extended Reality Interventions for Osteoarthritis of the Knee and Recovery After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Nonpharmacologic interventions are important for treating knee pain due to osteoarthritis or after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and extended reality (XR) technology may enhance treatments for these indications. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to evaluate XR interventions for pain due to knee osteoarthritis (KOA) or for recovery after TKA. METHODS: Databases were searched through May 2023 and updated in December 2025. Eligible trials evaluated XR interventions to treat KOA pain or after TKA. We classified interventions by depth of immersion and clinical mechanism. We used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria to determine the certainty of evidence for prioritized outcomes. Meta-analyses were performed when &#x2265;3 studies evaluated similar comparisons, outcomes, and time points. RESULTS: Eligible trials addressed KOA (k=12) or recovery after TKA (k=9). Sample sizes ranged from 36 to 306 participants, and most studies had a follow-up of &#x2264;3 months. Nineteen studies assessed pain-related functioning and pain intensity, and 5 assessed adverse events (AEs). For KOA, 10 studies examined interactive digital rehabilitation (IDR), and 2 examined virtual reality (VR)-digitally augmented exercise (DAE). IDR for KOA may result in better pain-related functioning (low certainty of evidence [COE]; pooled standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.59, 95% CI -1.11 to -0.06; prediction interval [PI] -1.72 to 0.55; k=5) and lower pain intensity at 6-8 weeks (low COE; pooled SMD -0.46, 95% CI -0.92 to 0.00; PI -1.39 to 0.47; k=4). VR-DAE for KOA (k=2) produced inconsistent results (very low COE). For post-TKA studies, 5 examined IDR, 2 examined VR-DAE, 1 examined VR-distraction, and 1 examined VR-psychoeducation. Post-TKA IDR may result in better pain-related functioning (low [k=4] and moderate COE [k=1]) but little to no difference in pain intensity (low-moderate COE; pooled SMD at 3-4 months -0.12, 95% CI -0.75 to 0.52; PI -1.63 to 1.27; k=3). VR-psychoeducation probably results in lower pain at 4 weeks (moderate COE; k=1), and VR-distraction may result in 6 months (low COE; k=1), whereas VR-DAE produced mixed findings (k=2; very low COE). IDR was not associated with AEs, and VR may not be associated with AEs for KOA (high and low COE), though AE reporting was uncommon (k=5) and evidence was very uncertain for post-TKA. CONCLUSIONS: IDR may augment treatment for KOA and post-TKA recovery, and VR may benefit post-TKA rehabilitation. This review is the first to stratify by level of immersion, clinical mechanism, and follow-up duration and to systematically evaluate AEs. IDR may be ready for integration into KOA care, while use after TKA needs more evidence. Randomized controlled trials with implementation outcomes could determine how XR interventions can be used for KOA, whereas trials evaluating efficacy and AEs are needed before their use for post-TKA.

Humans

Juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa: what is it? Report of 2 cases.

Juxta-articular adiposis dolorosa may be defined as the localised accumulation of painful fat near joints, most commonly the knee. It exists as a separate entity that must be distinguished from other causes of knee pain. We present 2 patients with this condition and review the literature. Various approaches to therapy are discussed. A classification of painful fat near joints is proposed.

Adiposis Dolorosa

The painful hip: helping the handicapped cope.

When seeing a patient with unexplained knee pain, it is imperative to examine and study the hip. Careful examination and maintaining notes on the patient's ability to walk and to perform daily functions will help determine when and if surgical treatment should be advised. Early consultation with an orthopedic surgeon will frequently be useful in determining whether an intertrochanteric osteotomy of the femur, a resurfacing operation of the hip, or a total hip replacement is indicated. From the orthopedist's point of view, it would be preferable to see the patient when at least 70 degrees of flexion is present. Although intertrochanteric osteotomy is rarely performed in the United States, it is the most common operation for uncomplicated coxarthrosis performed in Europe, and, when done at the right time, can provide the patient with an additional 10 to 15 years of use of his own hip. Resurfacing operations for the femoral head and acetabulum are valuable, if temporary, measures for treating arthritis in the younger patient; for the older patient, total hip replacement is preferred.

Age Factors

Tc 99m bone scanning in early detection of rhabdomyosarcoma metastases. A case report.

Employing the Siemens Scintimat II, a skeletal scintigraphy was successfully appled in the early detection, localisation and delineation of bone metastases to the knee from rhabdomyosarcoma of the right pectoral region. However repeated radiographs of the knee continued to be negative. As all other treatment approach of the painful knee: physiotherapy (short wave diathermy) had failed to produce relief, radiotherapy was applied as a last resort; the swelling regressed and the pain disappeared. This was indicative of the positive detection of early rhabdomyosarcoma metastases to be bones as a positive scan is seen in all areas of bone accretion whether malignancy is present or not.

Bone Neoplasms

Effect of an oral complementary medicine combination for symptomatic knee osteoarthritis: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Many individuals use complementary medicine therapies for osteoarthritis, despite limited scientific supporting evidence. These therapies have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and chondroprotective effects via different molecular pathways, suggesting potential therapeutic benefits. This trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a novel oral complementary medicine combination in adults with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis at 12 weeks. DESIGN: The 12-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled ATLAS trial was conducted in Australia from July 2024 to April 2025 (ACTRN12623000380695). Eligible participants were aged &#x2265;40 years with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis and radiographic Kellgren-Lawrence grade &#x2265;2. Participants were randomized 1:1 to receive the complementary medicine combination, comprising a total daily dose of Boswellia serrata extract 250&#x202f;mg, pine bark extract 100&#x202f;mg, methylsulfonylmethane 1500&#x202f;mg, curcumin 500&#x202f;mg, and piperine 5&#x202f;mg, or placebo. The primary outcome was the 12-week change in knee pain (0-100&#x202f;mm visual analogue scale (VAS)). A 95% confidence interval excluding differences >18&#x202f;mm between groups was interpreted as the absence of a clinically meaningful difference. Harms were monitored weekly. RESULTS: Eighty-four participants were recruited (mean [SD], age 63.7 [8.0] years, BMI 29.0 [5.5] kg/m2), and 57% were female. At 12-weeks, both groups (intention-to-treat population: complementary medicine, n=42; placebo, n=41) showed a decrease in VAS pain (least squares means: complementary medicine 20.1&#x202f;mm vs placebo 20.3&#x202f;mm), however with no difference between groups: 0.16&#x202f;mm (95% CI -6.81 to 7.12). The safety profile of experiencing any AE was similar between groups (risk difference, -3.4% [95% CI -24.8-17.9%]); and most adverse events were mild or moderate. Four participants experienced serious adverse events, unrelated to the treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The complementary medicine combination was not superior to placebo for improving pain over 12 weeks, and the evidence does not support the use of this combination to treat people with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis.

Humans

Chronic anteromedial instability of the knee.

This is a review of 26 patients with 2 or more years of knee pain or giving way or both in whom the most striking clinical finding was moderate or marked anteromedial instability. Of 27 knees, more than 15 responded favorably to a thigh-muscle-strengthening program. The Lenox Hill brace proved to be a useful adjunct in 9 patients.

Adult

Pain in the knee associated with osteoporosis of the patella.

Four patients, all of whom complained of pain in the knee, were found to have radiological evidence of osteoporosis particularly marked in the patella. In 3 a neurological lesion at the appropriate spinal segment was present, and the fourth patient, who was frankly hysterical, had an autonomic disturbance. If radiological porosis is isolated to the patella a distant cause such as nerve irritation should be sought.

Adult