Towards a Better Understanding of Anterior Knee Pain Don ́t Forget to Look Up

Anterior knee pain (AKP), referred to as chronic pain perceived in the anterior aspect of the knee following exclusion of other objective causes of pain, is one of the most common and most challenging knee problems to treat. So, in reality it is a diagnosis of exclusion. It affects physically active individuals between the ages of 15 and 30, females being more likely to develop it. These patients often also tend to report instability of the knee that typically occurs going up or down stairs or on an incline. Besides pain and giving way, these patients also show a different amount of chronic disability, some of them are severely impaired, while others only have a slight disability. AKP is typically caused and aggravated by ascending or descending stairs, squatting, kneeling, using high-heeled shoes and sitting with flexed knees for prolonged periods of time (“movie sign”). Therefore, it is likely that AKP patients are prone to develop avoiding behaviours that may worsen their disability. It causes limitation from participation in sports, sick leave, and generally a reduced quality of life.