Is There a Surgical Treatment of Patellofemoral Pain

It is widely accepted that the vast majority of patients with anterior knee pain (AKP) do not need a surgery; they only need conservative treatment [1–3]. In more cases than desirable, the AKP patient worsens after surgical treatment [4]. In fact, many surgeries in AKP patients are undertaken to address complications from previous poorly performed or badly indicated surgeries intended to treat AKP [4]. The patellofemoral joint (PFJ) does not really tolerate surgical procedures that do not respect its unique anatomical, biological, and biomechanical characteristics [5, 6]. That is why AKP surgery is not performed frequently. However, the results of conservative treatment for AKP are often frustrating—40% of AKP patients have an unfavorable recovery with conservative treatment at 12 months after the initial diagnosis [7]. This high percentage of unfavorable results may be due to some of these patients actually needing surgical treatment but not receiving it because their doctor lacks adequate knowledge to make a precise diagnosis.