Because your knee is a very complex joint, knee pain is one of the most common issues that athletes face today. Many different sports injuries can cause knee pain, including:
These sports injuries can happen in a number of ways but are particularly common in athletes who regularly make cutting, twisting, or sprinting movements.
Knee pain, which may be on-and-off or constant, is usually the first sign of a knee injury. Your knee discomfort may range from mild tenderness to extreme pain. Some other signs of a knee injury include:
If you have knee pain or other injury symptoms, stop your activity right away and see Dr. Golan for an assessment. Trying to play on an injured knee has an extremely high risk of worsening your injury and prolonging your recovery.
Dr. Golan conducts a comprehensive knee assessment to determine the cause of your knee pain. He prescribes a treatment plan focused on pain relief and returning to an active life.
Treatment normally starts with nonoperative measures to minimize pain and stimulate healing. During this healing period, you must modify your activities and participate in physical therapy for maximum results.
Should non-surgical care not work for your knee pain, Dr. Golan can perform minimally invasive surgery to restore your knee. He specializes in advanced knee reconstruction techniques, including multi-ligament knee injuries, ACL injuries, quadriceps-based ACL graft, and revision ACL procedures.
Dr. Golan is one of only a few Atlanta-area surgeons to offer membrane-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI), which uses cartilage from your own knee to help you grow new cartilage.
In many cases, Dr. Golan performs arthroscopic knee surgery, a procedure requiring very small incisions. Arthroscopy minimizes muscle damage, infection risk, bleeding, scarring, and pain while allowing for a much quicker recovery than traditional large-incision surgery.
After knee surgery, Dr. Golan prescribes a customized recovery plan that's tailored for your particular sport. This ensures that you achieve the most rapid return to your sport without risking your long-term knee health.
Knee pain isn't just inconvenient for an athlete. Untreated, it can become disabling. Elan Golan, MD, can help you get back to normal and stop your pain, so book your appointment online or call the office now.
Osteochondral Defect OCD:
Osteochondral Defect (OCD) is a common injury of the knee that can happen with any amount of wear and tear over time. This type of injury is a very specific tear in the cartilage that can happen under extreme impact or twisting of the knee joint. If you are experiencing pain with weight bearing or have a locking sensation in your knee with swelling or decreased range of motion you may have OCD.
Knee osteochondral defect specialist, Dr. Golan provides diagnosis and both surgical and nonsurgical treatment options for patients who are experiencing symptoms associated with knee osteochondral defects or articular cartilage damage. Contact Dr. Golan’s team at ATL Sports Medicine today!
Osteocondritis Desiccant:
Osteochondritis Dissecans (OD) is a bone and cartilage condition that most often occurs in the knee, in children and adolescents. It can also affect other joints, such as elbows and ankles. This condition occurs when a piece of the bone partially or fully separates from the end of the bone that forms a joint. This usually happens due to the lack of blood supply to the area. As the piece of the bone dies, the cartilage covering it cracks, and both may break loose. The area where the bone fragment breaks off is called a lesion. Although these lesions may occur in both of the paired joints, usually just one is affected.
Dr. Golan provides diagnosis and both surgical and nonsurgical treatment options for patients who are experiencing symptoms associated with Osteochondritis Dissecans.