Knee osteoarthritis (OA) affects more than 250 million people around the world and is an important factor contributing to a loss of early lifestyle and later independence. In 2013, arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions are one of the national health priority areas in Australia. In association with knee OA, meniscal tears are very prevalent, with the medial compartment most commonly affected. Arthroscopic knee procedures are common in Australia with over 100,000 performed annually. These are predominately to address meniscal and arthritic problems. Katz et al 2013 (1) examined 351 symptomatic patients, 45 years of age or older with a meniscal tear and imaging evidence of mild-to-moderate knee osteoarthritis. The primary outcome measure was the physical-function scale of the Western Ontario and McMaster...

I am currently enjoying the gentle sound of rain falling onto our tin roof. Awesome. For the farm it means new grown grass in 2-3 weeks and that means happy cows. Actually, the cows are calving and that is how I happen to be lying down writing this blog. About 4 years ago a cow gave me a happy handshake to my right knee. After the initial phase of pain and swelling, it settled down to a grumbling meniscal issue that flaredup whenever I enjoyed my passion - running. It took a good 6 months of grieving until my acceptance arose, phoenix like with the sun and I started to seriously consider swimming for cross training. Now I regarded swimming as...

I just recently completed a great 6 days in Perth teaching 2 Introductory/Refresher courses and one Advanced Lower Quadrant Course.