Hoffa’s fat pad impingement or infrapatellar fat pad impingement could be a source of your anterior knee pain! If you have pain in the front of the knee especially below the knee cap that is constantly getting in the way of doing activities you love such as walking, running or going to the gym… please keep reading.
Hoffa’s fat pad is located right under the knee cap aka patella and can often be misdiagnosed or treated as patella femoral syndrome or patellar tendonitis. This fat pad is rich in nerve and blood supply. Hoffa’s fat pad impingement can be caused by either a traumatic event like falling on your knee, post- surgical or can be chronic in nature from poor patella tracking.
3 Signs You May Have Hoffa’s Fat Pad Impingement
- Increased pain with stairs below the knee cap
- Pain with using your knee in full extension, straightening your knee or extending your knee.
- Deep anterior knee pain on either side of the patellar tendon.
Risk Factors For Hoffa’s Fat Pad Impingement
- Standing for prolonged periods with your knees hyperextended
- Poor quadriceps muscle control
- Weak glutes or increased internal rotation with walking, running and stairs
- Impact to the infrapatellar fat pad
- Sudden increase in exercise or activity
The good news is with GOOD physiotherapy treatment you can recover from fat pad impingement and return to your regular activities that you enjoyed before being slowed down by this knee pain.
A good hands on physiotherapist can do a complete mobility and strength assessment to see which factors could be contributing towards Hoffa’s fat pad irritation or impingement. After figuring out which factors could be contributing to your knee pain condition they can design an individualised plan, so that you can get back to the activities you love doing as quickly as possible.
Physiotherapy Treatment That Helps With Hoffa’s Fat Pad Impingement
Quad Strengthing
A good physiotherapist can give you proper quad strengthening exercises to help with muscle control of your patella or knee cap. It is important that these exercises are chosen carefully so that you are not continuing to irritate the fat pad. Certain quad exercises may actually irritate this condition thus hindering the healing process.
Glute Strengthening
A program focusing on glute strengthening and hip control can be one of the most important parts of long term success with fat pad irritation. Gluteus medius strengthening will help with lower extremity alignment and control so structures surrounding the knee cap and patella such as Hoffa’s fat pad are less irritated.
Taping
If you are suffering from Hoffa’s Fat Pad impingement you could benefit from taping techniques to help decrease the irritation and reduce pain. This will allow you to maximize your progression in physiotherapy exercise program.
Manual Therapy
Many people with infrapatellar fat pad impingement can have mobility issues in the hip and knee. Manual therapy can be a great way to assess for these range of motion restrictions and improve them.Restoring mobility in the hip and knee can reduce pain and lead to a more rapid recovery. Thus, allowing you to return to your sport or activities more quickly. A skilled hands on physiotherapist as identified by FCAMPT (Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapy) are physiotherapists that have taken extensive training in manual therapy and are recognized internationally as experts in hands on manual therapy treatment.
Dry Needling or Acupuncture
Dry Needling can be an excellent way to improve ROM and decrease pain so that less stress is produced around the knee cap allowing the Hoffa’s Fat Pad to settle down. Acupuncture can be helpful to reduce pain from the fat pad irritation and can work well when combined with manual therapy or dry needling
The above mentioned treatments are some highly effective treatments that you can expect from a physiotherapist trained in them to help you recover from your knee pain caused by Hoffa’s fat pad impingement. If you are in Toronto and would like to hear more about how physiotherapy can help you recover from Hoffa’s fat impingement or any other form of knee pain call Shawn Williams Physiotherapy for a FREE phone consultation to speak with a good hands on physiotherapist that provides a high level of one on one care with hour long sessions.
