The Patella Instability Clinic at Mayo Clinic Orthopedics and Sports Medicine will help you gain back control of your patellofemoral joint (where your knee cap and thigh bone meet in the front of your knee). Whether the instability occurred through contact sports like football, soccer, and lacrosse or overuse through basketball, volleyball, gymnastics, or dance, you’ll get the best treatment plan when you choose to go where there’s a longstanding history in patellofemoral patient care. Your custom treatment plan will have specific rehabilitation protocols and designated physical therapy that will help stabilize your patella (kneecap) by strengthening your patellofemoral joint. And, if surgery is necessary, you’ll have return to play and functional testing to make it safer for you to return to sport after surgery.

Whether your condition is treated by non-surgical specialists or requires integrated surgical care by our orthopedic surgeons, you can be confident you’ll have the right answer, the first time.

There are various symptoms that people experience when they have patella instability:

• There may be a history of a dislocated knee cap
• It may feel like the knee cap moves or slides to create a feeling of apprehension about the knee cap moving
• People may not feel that they can completely trust their knee stability, especially with testing activities, such as planting, pivoting, squatting, and jumping

Some of the treatment options for patella instability include:

• Physical therapy
• Orthobiologics and regenerative medicine
• Patellofemoral realignment
• Tibial tubercle osteotomy
• MPFL ligament reconstruction
• Cell-based cartilage repair
• Allograft transplantation
• Patellofemoral arthroplasty for advanced arthritis

We understand that getting you back to the best you’re able to be is important. When you come to the Patella Instability Clinic, you’re seeing the thought-leader in the area of correcting patellofemoral instability, which means you’re getting the best of the best, so that you can be at your best post-injury state.

Make an appointment with one of our specialists to learn more about the Patella Instability Clinic.