Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome??

DizzieLittleLifter
DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
edited September 22 in Fitness and Exercise
I will try to condense the background as to not make this too long. In July I had some slight knee pain in my RIGHT knee. While running, it would ache a bit then the pain progressed to where I would get a sharp pain and my knee would just give out. I continued running, bought a knee brace, and after a while I took a full week off of running and focused on deep stretching. It wasn't cured instantly after that but I can say I no longer have knee pain in my RIGHT knee. :smile: However, just as soon as my right knee was feeling great the ache started in the left knee.:grumble: I quick switched the knee brace to the left and cut my mileage back, focusing on stretching etc. After a month the pain is only getting worse. It hurts and buckles when I am just standing, where as before it was only while running. I decided to go to the Dr. This is why I hate Dr.s.... He told me to stop running. :brokenheart: UM NO! He said I had Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and that was that. No advice, no other information. I left the apt, feeling just as confused as I went in. This is a GP not a sports medicine Dr. I TOLD the receptionist it was a sports related injury. I don't feel confident in his diagnosis, or his "treatment". I'm really frustrated.:angry: I have goals I want to accomplish with my running and it's not something I'm going to quit. I need a Dr. that is going to help me safely reach those goals. So, I guess my question is to those who have/had this what can you tell me about your treatment/ management process, your exercise routine, and any other helpful info. TIA:flowerforyou:

Replies

  • nisijam5
    nisijam5 Posts: 9,964 Member
    I think you should stop running until you see a specialist. Pain is the body's method of telling you something is WRONG. Listen to it. Swim or bike ride to help maintain strength.
  • LinnPitt
    LinnPitt Posts: 55
    the only advice I could give you is to have your doctor refer you to a specialist who deals in sports injuries.
    I am not a runner and never really have been but I know what it is like to be told you have to give up something
    you love so much.
  • blueeyeddragon2115
    blueeyeddragon2115 Posts: 146
    My advice would be see a sports specialist they might have some treatment options and look up the condition the other dr. gave you online you might find some helpful tidbits of information that allows you to keep running. Although i agree with the above person that you should stop running until you see the specailist.
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    I was diagnosed with this as a sophomore in highschool. I would strongly suggest you see some regarding this and immediately stop with high knee strain activities. You can eventually overcome this but you need some medical advice.
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
    I was diagnosed with this as a sophomore in highschool. I would strongly suggest you see some regarding this and immediately stop with high knee strain activities. You can eventually overcome this but you need some medical advice.

    Thanks! How did you overcome this?
    I was just doing my regular workout and my knee gave out completely it hurt so bad I was in tears. Here I am about an hour later and I can't bend my knee. I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary and I didn't run today (walked 5K). I'm so upset and frustrated. I can't even have a normal workout! Its never been this bad :( WTH. :(
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    I have possibly good news and bad news: the good news is that PFS can be treated although it can be difficult; the bad news is that there is a high probability you will have to stop running, at least during the initial part of the treatment.

    PFS is frequent in runners because the quad become weak in relation to the hamstrings and the patella does not track properly. To treat it you must:

    1. Relieve the inflammation
    2. Strengthen the quad
    3. Correct ant biomechanical flaws that might be contributing to the problem.

    My phone is swing so I can't go into more detail but you need to see a running injury specialist and get into a therapy program.
  • nisijam5
    nisijam5 Posts: 9,964 Member
    I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary and I didn't run today (walked 5K). I'm so upset and frustrated. I can't even have a normal workout! Its never been this bad :( WTH. :(

    Stay off the knee...no walking!!!
  • estelle74uk
    estelle74uk Posts: 465 Member
    I will try to condense the background as to not make this too long. In July I had some slight knee pain in my RIGHT knee. While running, it would ache a bit then the pain progressed to where I would get a sharp pain and my knee would just give out. I continued running, bought a knee brace, and after a while I took a full week off of running and focused on deep stretching. It wasn't cured instantly after that but I can say I no longer have knee pain in my RIGHT knee. :smile: However, just as soon as my right knee was feeling great the ache started in the left knee.:grumble: I quick switched the knee brace to the left and cut my mileage back, focusing on stretching etc. After a month the pain is only getting worse. It hurts and buckles when I am just standing, where as before it was only while running. I decided to go to the Dr. This is why I hate Dr.s.... He told me to stop running. :brokenheart: UM NO! He said I had Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and that was that. No advice, no other information. I left the apt, feeling just as confused as I went in. This is a GP not a sports medicine Dr. I TOLD the receptionist it was a sports related injury. I don't feel confident in his diagnosis, or his "treatment". I'm really frustrated.:angry: I have goals I want to accomplish with my running and it's not something I'm going to quit. I need a Dr. that is going to help me safely reach those goals. So, I guess my question is to those who have/had this what can you tell me about your treatment/ management process, your exercise routine, and any other helpful info. TIA:flowerforyou:

    I had the same problem and the physiotherapist told me to get some insoles because apparently it was to do with the arch on my foot was dropping so it through my knee out of line so when I ran it mucked it up. I had a hip problem a while back too and he seemed to think the same thing caused it.

    They are called Orthaheels Regular which you put into your normal shoes, you can also get other ones but if you see a specialist, ask about that.

    Hope this helps.

    Rach
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
    Thanks Everyone for the replies. :smile: I don't know how to multi quote :laugh:
    Kim, The dr. said to stop running, I told him no, and he said we can negotiate how much to cut down (he didn't though) he never said anything about not walking or continuing my regular workouts. :huh: I of course now that I can't bend the darn thing I will stay off it for a while. :brokenheart:

    Azdak, Great advice!:bigsmile: But see, I'm not convinced of his diagnosis. My quads are strong, and when I started researching the pain my symptoms line up more with a ligament pull or tear. I think he was rash to diagnose so quickly TBH. I'm not a newbie to running, I know the risks and do what I can to prevent them. IE strength training on my off days, walking, doing proper warm ups and cool downs, along with doing pilates or yoga to help with flexibility.

    I just can't believe that my running life is over. It's too important to me. No, I'm not a gold medalist, heck I've only ran one race, I'm not the fastest runner out there, but I truly truly LOVE running. I'm good at it and I can't imagine my life again without it. :cry:
  • DizzieLittleLifter
    DizzieLittleLifter Posts: 1,020 Member
    I will try to condense the background as to not make this too long. In July I had some slight knee pain in my RIGHT knee. While running, it would ache a bit then the pain progressed to where I would get a sharp pain and my knee would just give out. I continued running, bought a knee brace, and after a while I took a full week off of running and focused on deep stretching. It wasn't cured instantly after that but I can say I no longer have knee pain in my RIGHT knee. :smile: However, just as soon as my right knee was feeling great the ache started in the left knee.:grumble: I quick switched the knee brace to the left and cut my mileage back, focusing on stretching etc. After a month the pain is only getting worse. It hurts and buckles when I am just standing, where as before it was only while running. I decided to go to the Dr. This is why I hate Dr.s.... He told me to stop running. :brokenheart: UM NO! He said I had Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome and that was that. No advice, no other information. I left the apt, feeling just as confused as I went in. This is a GP not a sports medicine Dr. I TOLD the receptionist it was a sports related injury. I don't feel confident in his diagnosis, or his "treatment". I'm really frustrated.:angry: I have goals I want to accomplish with my running and it's not something I'm going to quit. I need a Dr. that is going to help me safely reach those goals. So, I guess my question is to those who have/had this what can you tell me about your treatment/ management process, your exercise routine, and any other helpful info. TIA:flowerforyou:

    I had the same problem and the physiotherapist told me to get some insoles because apparently it was to do with the arch on my foot was dropping so it through my knee out of line so when I ran it mucked it up. I had a hip problem a while back too and he seemed to think the same thing caused it.

    They are called Orthaheels Regular which you put into your normal shoes, you can also get other ones but if you see a specialist, ask about that.

    Hope this helps.

    Rach

    Cool! :flowerforyou: I'll check into that!
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Thanks Everyone for the replies. :smile: I don't know how to multi quote :laugh:
    Kim, The dr. said to stop running, I told him no, and he said we can negotiate how much to cut down (he didn't though) he never said anything about not walking or continuing my regular workouts. :huh: I of course now that I can't bend the darn thing I will stay off it for a while. :brokenheart:

    Azdak, Great advice!:bigsmile: But see, I'm not convinced of his diagnosis. My quads are strong, and when I started researching the pain my symptoms line up more with a ligament pull or tear. I think he was rash to diagnose so quickly TBH. I'm not a newbie to running, I know the risks and do what I can to prevent them. IE strength training on my off days, walking, doing proper warm ups and cool downs, along with doing pilates or yoga to help with flexibility.

    I just can't believe that my running life is over. It's too important to me. No, I'm not a gold medalist, heck I've only ran one race, I'm not the fastest runner out there, but I truly truly LOVE running. I'm good at it and I can't imagine my life again without it. :cry:

    I understand your feelings about the diagnosis--I have been in that situation more than once (more than twice...actually quite often) and I have had some frosty conversations with doctors because of it. I do not try to be difficult, but I also need to make 100% sure that either a) they are correct or b) they at least know what they are talking about, are up on the current research, have had experience with this particular injury, etc. In order for me to be confident (and I have told docs this point blank to their faces) I have to have things explained to me in a way that answers MY questions and takes into account MY perspective.

    In return, however, I also try to studiously avoid being in denial, I do my research before the doctor visit and I don't automatically disagree because they might tell me something I don't want to hear. To me, that's one of the biggest potential danger areas for runners.

    But I also try to apply the same scrutiny to myself as well--there is the old saying that a person who tries to be their own doctor usually ends up with a quack for a physician and a fool for a patient.

    I would only caution a couple of things: 1) no, there is no reason to accept a recommendation of "stop running" forever; however, you may need to be open to the idea that you might have to "stop running" temporarily to heal an injury. 2) Unless you have specific medical or therapeutic expertise in a particular injury area, "home remedies" --e.g. braces, running-store inserts, etc have an extremely high rate of failure, because they usually do not treat the problem--at best they just help mask the symptoms. Without a biomechanical/functional analysis, you really are just guessing.

    I hope you don't give up on the medical professionals just yet--there is someone out there, you just haven't found him/her yet. You do have to do some research, however, on their background, etc.

    Anyhow, good luck. If you ever do receive a specific diagnosis, I would be happy to share more specifics. Unfortunately, I do know a thing or two about knee injuries and rehab.
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