Q. My teenage daughter dislocated her kneecap in cheerleading. When I was her age the same thing happened to me several times and I wound up with pretty major knee surgery. How can I prevent the same thing for my daughter?

A. The kneecap or patella is a common area for instability or looseness- especially in teenagers. This results in episodes of subluxation (kneecap partially slips out of place) or a full dislocation (kneecap completely pops out of place). Some individuals are more “loose-jointed” than others and are more prone to these episodes. This happens especially in teenage girls who tend to be more “loose jointed”. It is also related to genetics and knee alignment.

Every patellar dislocation should be evaluated by an orthopaedic surgeon who can best determine your treatment. Proper rehabilitation is essential since strengthening certain muscles, and stretching other ones, can help prevent recurrence. There are also certain patellar stabilizing knee sleeves that can help prevent episodes of patellar instability during sports.

If your daughter is lucky enough to avoid surgery with rehabilitation, then preventive exercises need to become a lifetime habit. I see many young athletes who do well with preventive rehabilitation and once they stop the home exercises, problems arise again. Don’t let that happen to your daughter.