Can the alignment of the knee joint resulting from medial femorotibial osteoarthritis be corrected by physical therapy?

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to demonstrate that a patient with medial femorotibial osteoarthritis had significant pain relief after the application of a functional wrapping technique with exercise therapy. The authors also describe how to apply the wrapping to reduce the mechanical load on the medial articular cartilage of the knee joint. This report also indicates the possibility of the correction of malalignment of the knee by physical therapy, describing the mechanism of the knee joint deformity which is related to the rotational malalignment between the femur and tibia, and explains how the wrapping technique works on the knee joint. To conclude, although it is still ambiguous whether or not the knee joint alignment of the patient was corrected by physical therapy, it was indicated that the wrapping technique combined with exercise therapy was at least efficient in alleviating pain of the patient with moderate medial femorotibial osteoarthritis.