Your patella — the bone that makes your kneecap — is held in place by very strong ligaments. Subluxation occurs when one or more of these connective tissues, or the surrounding muscles, weakens and fails to stabilize the bone in the joint. Mark S. Juhn, a doctor of osteopathic medicine, explains that during recovery for subluxation, when you should reduce or avoid high-impact activity, patients can use the elliptical trainer to maintain fitness. Get your doctor's approval for your exercise plans before beginning.
About Patellar Subluxation
Your patella should only move up and down within your knee joint, but with subluxation, it moves slightly out of alignment and starts to track laterally, the Sports Injury Clinic website explains. This usually occurs after twisting or sustaining a direct blow to your knee — particularly if your thigh muscles are weak. The most common symptoms of subluxation are pain and swelling around your kneecap, difficulty bending your knee and your patella noticeably moving out of the joint on movement.
Treatment for Patellar Subluxation
After you have reduced the initial swelling, recovery from a subluxation injury involves maintaining range of motion through gentle exercise. In the first few weeks, this typically includes exercises to strengthen the muscles and ligaments that help stabilize your knee joint. As your strength and mobility improves, you can start low-impact exercise such as swimming, cycling and using the elliptical trainer. Avoid activities that jar the knee — such as running, skipping and the step machine — until you have made a full recovery.
Strengthening Exercises
As well as low-impact aerobic activity to maintain and improve range of motion, it is important to strengthen the muscles and ligaments around your knee after subluxation has occurred. Sports Injury Clinic suggests you start strengthening exercises about two weeks after the injury, beginning with shallow squats and calf raises — though you should get your doctor's approval before implementing any exercise regimen after this injury. Over the next few weeks, gradually increase the intensity of these exercises by deepening your squats and progressing to single-leg calf raises. At about the sixth week of the recovery phase, you should be ready to progress to low-impact aerobic activities like using the elliptical trainer.
Elliptical Trainer Benefits
When it comes to knee injuries, using the elliptical trainer is recommended over more strenuous aerobic activities, such as running or the treadmill, because it offers more support for and is less jarring on your joints, Mayo Clinic physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist Dr. Edward R. Laskowski writes. He adds that an elliptical workout should generally not cause pain if you are using the machine properly. This involves standing up straight with your shoulders back and down and your stomach muscles contracted. As with any injury, ask your doctor if this type of exercise is suitable during recovery from patella subluxation.
References
- "American Family Physician"; Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome: A Review and Guidelines for Treatment; Mark S. Juhn, D.O.; Nov. 1, 1999
- Sports Injury Clinic: Patella Dislocation
- Sports Injury Clinic: Rehabilitation (Patellar Dislocation)
- MayoClinic.com; Elliptical Machines: Better Than Treadmills?; Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.; June 4, 2011
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