Patellar Instability

The overall goal of rehabilitation after patellar stabilising surgery is to eliminate functional deficits, allowing patients to regain confidence in their knee (physical as well as mental) and enable a return to their desired level of activity. 

To reach this goal, rehabilitation should be individualised, performed in phases with functional gateway criteria deciding progression to the next phase in addition to factor biological healing and addressing the psychological aspect of PI. Functional assessment with objective criteria should determine patients' mental and physical readiness for returning to sport—although many patients with PI primarily aim to regain normal daily functioning.

This articles purpose is to discuss the treatment options and rehabilitation protocols after non-operative and operative treatment of patellar instability, and to discuss expected return to play outcomes and functional performance with non-operative and operative treatment of patellar instability.

A criterion-based program assessing range of motion, joint effusion, strength, neuromuscular control, proprioception, agility, and power are critical measures to assess when rehabilitating this population.