Athletico Health Resources

Everybody say “Jump Jump!” Have you ever experienced pain in the front of your knee after running or kicking? You probably have a condition called Jumper’s Knee or patellar tendonitis. (more…)

One factor that athletic trainers and physical therapists look at when assessing knee injury risk is the reliance someone has between 3 groups of muscles – the quadriceps (quads), glutes, and hamstrings. Here’s a quick rundown of what these muscle groups all do: (more…)

I was recently asked by ESPN’s Sports Medicine Weekly radio show to do an interview related to a recent article in the Chicago Tribune covering the recent increase in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears. The article states that over the last decade, some orthopedic groups have seen a 400% increase in torn ACLs and that a huge segment of that growing population is female. In fact,some studies have shown that females can be up to 8 times more likely to tear their ACL than males playing the same sport, so I’d like to focus on that segment of the population. During my time with Dr. Cole and Steve Kashul, we covered some of the reasons why the increase in these injuries is happening, but I’d like to take this opportunity to briefly expand on some of the ideas brought up in the interview. (more…)

Knee replacements are one of the most common orthopedic surgeries performed today. It is used as a treatment for end stage knee osteoarthritis when other conservative treatments have failed. Recent advances in surgical technique, including the minimally invasive method, have made it a successful option for an individual who cannot tolerate simple daily activities due to the pain of arthritis. Here is a synopsis of what to expect with your hospital stay, recovery, and outcomes following a knee replacement. (more…)

Many patients come to physical therapy with knee pain as a result of gym workouts. Here are three ways to avoid knee pain while working out at the gym: (more…)

Running season has arrived and a lot of you wanted to hit the ground running, but instead, you hit the ground hurting…hurting on the outside of your knee. If that’s the case, you could have iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) or IT band syndrome for short. IT band syndrome is an overuse injury that is common in endurance athletes like runners and bikers. It affects a tissue that runs from the side of your hip all of the way down past your knee. Most of the time, the inflammation manifests itself as pain on the outside of the knee. It can be incredibly painful and is typically a frustratingly stubborn injury to deal with.
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Spring in Chicago came early this year, and with that many recreational runners took advantage of the weather and returned to running after several months of inactivity or running indoors. Also, many of these runners in their excitement did not progress slowly back into the activity and thus were more susceptible to injuries, including patellofemoral syndrome, which is often referred to as “runner’s knee.” (more…)