Ann Rehabil Med.  2016 Dec;40(6):1124-1128. 10.5535/arm.2016.40.6.1124.

Effect of Radial Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy in Patients With Fabella Syndrome

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Sahmyook Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. btjrbj@gmail.com

Abstract

The fabella is a small sesamoid bone generally located in the tendon of the lateral head of the gastrocnemius behind the lateral condyle of the femur. Fabella syndrome is the occurrence of posterolateral knee pain associated with the fabella. It is a rare cause of knee pain that is often misdiagnosed. Fabella syndrome can be managed with conservative or surgical treatment. We applied radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy as a new treatment strategy for fabella syndrome and achieved a successful outcome.

Keyword

Extracorporeal shock wave therapy; Ultrasonography; Sesamoid bones

MeSH Terms

Femur
Head
Humans
Knee
Sesamoid Bones
Shock*
Tendons
Ultrasonography

Figure

  • Fig. 1 X-ray and ultrasonography images of the fabella (arrow). Knee X-rays of case 1 (A), case 2 (B), case 3 (C), and case 4 (D). Ultrasonography images of case 1 (E), case 2 (F), case 3 (G), and case 4 (H).


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