Chondromalacia Patella (Patellofemoral Syndrome) - Knee Pain

TheUniqueSilhouette
TheUniqueSilhouette Posts: 16
edited November 12 in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone have this? I have had this for years in my right knee and then my left knee about a year ago. Now my right leg is better and I am hoping my left will follow. I have been going to physical therapy for this for months and wish I could peek into the future and see when I will actually feel better. It would be one less thing to worry about. I've iced my knee, had ultrasound heat therapy, had my knee taped, taken Ibprofen... If anyone has this, what do you do for relief?

Replies

  • sjohnny
    sjohnny Posts: 56,142 Member
    I had this ten years ago. I went to physical therapy for it and within about three months it was 100% better. I still have knee pain from time to time but it's from other injuries I've sustained and it passes pretty quickly.

    Stick to the exercises the PT gives you. Do them religiously and it will get better.
  • aiyana1228
    aiyana1228 Posts: 100 Member
    Not sure what this specific syndrome is. I have a torn meniscus. With that, the more I move the less pain I have. I do have to be careful with high intensity high impact activities and there are still days I need to ice it. I doubt that I will ever be totally pain free. but it has not been that gut wrenching don't want to move it kind of pain for many years.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,993 Member
    Continue with PT. Don't go beyond what's recommended.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • salxtai
    salxtai Posts: 341 Member
    Yep, I have it on both knees and I'm a physiotherapist, hehe.

    Its fine - provided you follow what your PT has given you etc, then you'll essentially be functionally able to do whatever you like. Obviously there may be some moments where you'll feel a bit of a twinge of pain, and some activities may be more prone to aggravating it.

    Nothing serious, don't stress :smile: Oh and weight loss helps immensely with it too, win-win!
  • TrainingWithTonya
    TrainingWithTonya Posts: 1,741 Member
    What kind of taping did you have done? Standard athletic taping? Or Kinesiotape? If you haven't tried Kinesiotape yet, I highly recommend asking your PT about it. I tore my patella tendon a couple of years ago and with Kinesiotape I feel like it really healed faster. If I feel a twinge now, I will use the Kinesiotape for a couple of days and it takes enough of the pressure off that I can do my normal activity and heal at the same time.
  • TeutonicKnight
    TeutonicKnight Posts: 367 Member
    I had a partial tear in my ACL over 3 years ago and was told surgery would be an option, but since i am not an athlete it would be a waste of money. So I took a friend;s advice and did the cold, heat, and ultrasound therapy 3 times a day starting this year. It is about 75% better but I know it will never be 100% I still wear a brace when I play sports or go hiking, or even help people move.

    I am not endorsing them, but they really helped me out.

    http://www.mendmeshop.com/

    I got the Freezie Wrap, Inferno Wrap, and the Therapeutic Ultrasound Wand. Never thought my knee would ever feel as good as it does now where before I was afraid to jog down steps in fear of my knee going out on me.
  • sirihermine
    sirihermine Posts: 123 Member
    I have it, and go to PT. I've been working out with it for so long though, so the cartilage is pretty damaged acording to the MRI, and will probably never be completely fixed according to my PT and doctor.

    Might have to look into surgery further on in the future, but right now I can do a fair amount of exercise w/o knee pain so I just try to make the best of it and modify my workouts so that I don't put too much strain on the knee.
  • seekingstrengthX2
    seekingstrengthX2 Posts: 771
    I have this! :-)

    Hahaha.

    First, I'd say ditch the ibuprofen. I take 2 Osteo-BiFlex EVERY day and my pain is almost non-existent. Honestly. It has made such a huge difference. My doctor thought I might not really run again, but guess what... I am doing my first Half Marathon next month! YEA!!

    There are a few lower body strength training exercises I cannot do, but not many. Certain positions, pressure hitting it at certain angles causes pain, but for the most part I do very well.

    I also wear a compression brace on the affected knee when I run. It keeps it stable and seems to reduce the pain for me.
  • Fit_Forever25
    Fit_Forever25 Posts: 313 Member
    I have it in my left knee from last 2 years but I got a surgery done in Dec 2011 and its still under recovery as the surgery was longer than the usual one. My Doc said there was another small issue which he has resolved. After surgery I spent 1 months in bed and was in a horrible state for 1.5months but slowly I have started exercises and now I can do everything but jogging/running and cant jump properly as it hurts a lot.

    1. I do ice my leg twice a day as whenever I workout it gets swollen and doc said it will take another 3-4 months for full recovery but I have to work on my thigh muscles so I am doing a lot of exercises.
    2. I try to keep it elevated whenever I can like keeping it on the CPU when I am in office and keeping it up on couch when I am sitting at home.
    3. I do message gently with a special oil before bed time which actually reduce the pain.

    Try elevation and ice it as much as you can and gentle messages may be?
  • Fit_Forever25
    Fit_Forever25 Posts: 313 Member
    One more thing:
    In my personal experience do not take pain killers try to live with the pain and do the RICE therapy instead.
    I used to take 10 pain killers in a day for more than 40 days after my surgery and I am so sick of them now.
    They actually do no good except the momentarily pain relief but comes with lots of side effects!
  • TheUniqueSilhouette
    TheUniqueSilhouette Posts: 16
    Honestly, it's nice to know that I am not alone. It's been a bit frustrating for me because there is so much more that I want to do and I am restricted to do it. Some things are modified by my PT, which is nice because I can at least get some of the exercising I want in. Even daily house chores can be painful and picking up my daughters. I will try some options you guys have given me and talk to my PT about it as well. Thank you everyone!!! :-)
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