High School Senior Basketball Player Finds Treatment for Knee Pain

As a senior in high school, 18-year-old Sarah played center for both her high school and AAU basketball teams.

Sarah had been experiencing bilateral knee pain on and off for three years and had been through two prior physical therapy treatment sessions without success.

Her doctor hoped she could find better results at Accelerated Sports Therapy & Fitness. Sarah’s evaluation at Accelerated showed decreased strength and neuromuscular control in her core, hip and lower extremities. It also showed tenderness in her patellar tendon on the right knee as well as more generalized anterior pain in her left knee.

Sarah’s treatment was designed to focus on neuromuscular re-education, teaching Sarah how her core, hips and legs should work in the proper sequence to minimize stress to her knee joints.

Once she showed improved control with these exercises, Sarah and her physical therapist took to Accelerated’s basketball court to work on functional training drills. As her symptoms improved, the intensity of her training increased, with the focus being on hop training to minimize knee stress, preventing further injury.

It turned out the third time was the charm, and Sarah returned to basketball with significant decrease in pain and improved jumping explosiveness. Sarah hopes to continue her basketball career in college next year.

Brittany Laeger