Date of Award

2017

Document Type

Scholarly Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Department

Physical Therapy

First Advisor

Mark Romanick

Keywords

Meniscectomy -- rehabilitation; Meniscus -- injuries; Case Reports

Abstract

Background and Purpose: The purpose of this case study is to describe the case of an athlete who sustained a meniscus injury and his subsequent course of physical therapy.

Case Description: The patient in the study is a 20 year old college football player seen by physical therapy following a left knee arthroscopic lateral meniscectomy. He injured his knee while cutting to change direction during football practice.

Intervention: Initial treatment for the patient started off as basic body weight resistance along with modalities and ice to reduce inflammation. Each week he progressed from bodyweight to weighted resistance activities and ending with dynamic strength and explosive activities closely related to his sport.

Outcomes: The patient completed therapy after achieving all his goals and was pain free with all activities. He was able to resume full football activities and was satisfied with his level of treatment.

Discussion. The patient in the case study was sent to physical therapy following a lateral meniscectomy. He was able to regain full function of his knee and resume football activities. A limitation of the study was the lack of use of functional assessment tools. Future studies should look at the effectiveness of modalities and aquatic therapy with meniscus patients.

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