When you bend your knee, the fat pad can get pushed into the back of the kneecap or into the joint space. Because this fat pad contains nerves, pressure on it can cause significant pain. In fact, the pain can sometimes be stronger than pain coming from the meniscus or cartilage. However, this fat pad is often overlooked and is not commonly treated in rehabilitation settings in Thailand.
So how can we treat the infrapatellar fat pad? Since it is fat tissue, improving blood flow alone does not help much. The hardened parts of the fat pad can be softened using radiofrequency therapy or shockwave therapy. It is also possible to manually mobilize the fat pad by hand. When the fat pad becomes softer and moves more easily, pain decreases.
Why does the fat pad become stiff in the first place? A major cause is tight quadriceps muscles (the thigh muscles above the knee), which reduce knee mobility and lead to fat pad stiffness. Sitting for long hours every day also causes both the muscles and fat pad to stiffen because they are not being used. Additionally, almost all patients with osteoarthritis of the knee develop stiffness in the fat pad. In many cases, the pain in osteoarthritis does not come from the joint deformity itself, but from stiffness in the fat pad.
At Pain Away, even patients who were told in hospitals that surgery is the only option have experienced significant improvement in their knee pain. If you are struggling with knee pain, please feel free to consult us.
