Southwest Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Information Headquarters

The definition of Anterior Knee Pain(ANP) is as follows: A syndrome that causes pain to be felt on the front(or anterior) of the knee on, under or around the kneecap.The pain is usually mechanical, increased by activity and decreased by rest. Sensations and symptoms vary and there is more than one tissue that can be the cause of the pain. ANP is very common in adolescents and usually begins at the beginning of a growth spurt. It can be caused by the growth spurt alone or it can be triggered by the combination of growth and sports. ANP may continue throughout the teen years and sometimes into early college.It may be chronic and it also disappears on it's own at times. Different types of injury can cause ANP such as a direct blow to the kneecap, or after a ligament injury to the knee(indirect cause).

*Please enjoy this inspiring story from one of our valued patients, Pat

Medicare is an insurance company that people get through the social security administration. Medicare has been a system that has been providing valuable health benefits at a low cost. This makes it easier for many people to receive health benefits especially as they retire and no longer are covered under their employers insurance. Medicare can be a confusing system to navigate and the rules and regulations may seem endless. Physical therapy is a specialty service and this makes the rules and regulations even more challenging to navigate. To make it easier to understand, here are a few important things to know about the rules that are placed with physical therapy.

A physical therapist is not a medical provider that every person typically sees in a year. It may not be until an accident or injury that you are even introduced to what physical therapy is and how it can help. It is this reason that may make people nervous about what to expect for their first visit. It is a nervousness that does not need to happen and can be easily avoided if you know what to expect. It is important to bring these things to your first visit to make your visit a lot easier:

When you become a physical therapy patient, especially if your injury involves the lower limb, you will most likely hear the term PROPRIOCEPTION.In a nutshell, proprioception is your sense of position throughout your body.But, before we explore this exceptional phenomenon further, let me explain to you the "Nervous System 101":

When a patient begins rehab, one of the first questions I hear as a physical therapist is "how long is this going to take to get better?". After 23 years of practice,it has become evident that there are many variables involved. Below are 5 of the top factors that determine the speed of healing and the progress of rehab after injury or surgery.

Growing pains are a very common complaint in young children and adolesents. Approximately 4-50% of all children and adolesents from the age of 5 to 14 years have complaints of some type of growing pains. Growing pains are usually a result of rapid growth. Inflammation can occur around the site of tendon insertion. The tendon will also pull on the growth plate, causing inflammation and pain. "Bone" aches and pains are common in the evening time and when the child is trying to sleep. Young athletic children will also experience increased pain during times of increased activity. Common causes of growth related pain in young athletes is Osgood-Schlatter Disease and Sever's Disease.

October 2010 was a very different time for our patient Valerie. She recalls feeling defeated by life and had no endurance or strength to complete her everyday tasks. In June, Valerie had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma and had 2/3 of her pancreas, 80% of her stomach, intestine and colon removed. She was referred to Southwest Orthopaedic Physical Therapy by the New Mexico Cancer Center after undergoing surgery and 4 months of Chemotherapy.

Low back pain caused by improper lifting is a common occurance in the work place and home enviornment. Maintaining a health back througout life can be achieved by carefully paying attention to your lifting technique and regular exercise for good phyiscal fitness and strength. Follow these 10 simple steps to help avoid pain caused by lifting.

Do you have a really cool phone that you can not seem to put down? Do you text more than you call? Does it start to hurt after you text for a while?