Knee Pain: Evaluation and Treatment of the Most Common Etiologies

Knee pain is one of the most common types of chronic pain and by some estimates is the presenting symptom in approximately 5% of all primary care visits. Although there are many potential etiologies of knee pain, 3 are the cause in the majority of cases:

• Osteoarthritis (OA)
• Patellofemoral pain (PFP)
• Meniscal tears (MT)

Each of these conditions has a different set of presenting symptoms and is more likely to be found in some populations than others. The following slide show highlights the basics of diagnosis and treatment based on a recent review in JAMA.