Patellofemoral pain. An arthroscopic perspective.

Patellofemoral pain should be approached as thoroughly as any other musculoskeletal disease. A careful patient history and physical examination are mandatory. These are followed by appropriate imaging studies such as radiographs, bone scans, CT scans, CT arthrograms, and MRI, as each individual case demands. Finally, arthroscopy is employed in its proper sequence. This article has been developed as an attempt to define a classification scheme of anterior knee pain and then to narrow this down to pain localized to the patellofemoral joint. The authors have attempted to isolate further the clinical entities to those that can be diagnosed and treated arthroscopically. Arthroscopy and arthroscopic surgery allow recognition and treatment of these disorders with minimal invasiveness and patient morbidity.