Have you ever heard that the kneecap can "derail"?

During this Spring Festival, it was quite common for young people with congenital patellar dislocation to undergo surgery at the Department of Sports Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University.

The patella is also called the kneecap, which is often called the "wavy cover". Patellar dislocation means that the patella slips out of its place. It is more common in female adolescents under the age of 18, and its incidence rate accounts for about 3% of all knee injuries.

What causes patellar luxation?

① Trauma: The knee is suddenly hit directly or violently, or is sprained, etc. during activities.

② Congenital or developmental factors: such as patellofemoral joint dysplasia, high patella, genu valgum (X-shaped legs), loose medial patellar retinaculum and other anatomical abnormalities.

What are the symptoms of patellar dislocation?

Patients will feel sudden severe pain in the knee joint, often accompanied by obvious knee swelling, weakness, limited movement, etc., and may be accompanied by a feeling of dislocation. After the knee joint is straightened, patellar dislocation often resets itself, and a "click" sound can often be heard during the reset. The misdiagnosis rate of X-rays is high, and CT, MRI and other examinations are often required for further diagnosis.

How is patellar luxation treated?

Conservative treatment: For patients with first-time patellar dislocation and without other injuries, if the doctor assesses that the risk of re-dislocation is low, conservative treatment can be tried, including plaster or brace fixation, immobilization, physical therapy, traditional Chinese medicine treatment, etc.

Surgical treatment: Initial dislocation combined with other injuries (ligament injury, fracture, etc.) or recurrent dislocation should be treated with surgery.

How to prevent patellar luxation?

① Avoid excessive load on the knee joint: Avoid being overweight or obese, and try not to carry heavy objects up and down the stairs, which will increase the pressure on the patella and make it more likely to dislocate.

② Strengthen physical exercise: In daily life, you can do exercises such as swimming, cycling, static squatting, straight leg raising, etc. to strengthen the muscle mass around the knee joint and reduce the risk of patellar dislocation.

③Avoid trauma: Exercise safely, warm up before exercise, avoid sudden squatting, forceful jumping and other actions, wear protective gear during exercise, and maintain correct exercise posture. Travel safely to avoid external trauma to the knee joint that may cause patellar dislocation.

If you experience symptoms such as pain, swelling, dislocation, limited movement, etc. in your knee joint in daily life, please seek medical attention for examination and treatment in time.

□Huang Congcong, nurse of the Sports Medicine Department of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, and Xu Yunyun, head nurse