Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

HI,

I'm a 7th grader my teacher wants us to do science experiments. The science experiments need a: question, hypothesis, list of materials, method, results in a graph and paragraph, conclusion, etc.... We start working on our science fair projects five months before the science fair so as you can guess my teacher is strict about our work. I was going to do mine on Osterialchondral lesion because my knee would always hurt and i did do gymnastics and 2 years later after i had to quit because of the pain i figured out after lots of x-rays and MRI i had one in my knee and i have to stop sports and everything for 4 months at least to let it heal. My teacher loved the idea but now I have no idea how to make an experiment out of this. I looked up pretty much everything on the internet about knee related science fair projects, even the deep knee bends one on here that doesn't have much to do with Osterialchondral lesions. I have Christmas plans all weekend and i am really desperate for some help. The project is do in less than 5 days

Hi,

Since you have so little time there are limited choices. One I would suggest is comparing over-the-counter joint and muscle pain relievers. Pick as many as you can find then apply them to your knee and see which one gives you the greatest pain relief for the longest time. Also, you have read a lot about the lesion so explain why certain pain killing compounds--aspirin, capsaicin, ibuprofen, etc.--might work better than others for this disease.

This sounds like a really worthwhile project. Good luck!

Sybee