Anterior knee pain

Anterior knee pain (AKP) is not a specific disease, but refers simply to pain experienced around the front part of the knee, and which may arise from any of several conditions, some of which may not even involve the knee itself.

Anterior knee pain is one of the most common of knee complaints, and probably the one where clinicians most frequently fail to understand or fully assess the problem prior to undertaking surgery. It is important that the clinician (usually the physiotherapist in the first instance) understands the various separate problems that can cause pain in the front of the knee, so that the right questions are asked and the rights tests done to determine the exact cause of this particular patient's pain.