Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

What is Patellofemoral pain syndrome?
Patellofemoral pain is quite a common knee problem experienced by many. If you or anyone you know suffers from  this condition, you feel pain under and around the kneecap. The pain may worsen when you have been sitting for long period of time. You can have this pain in one knee or both.

The exact cause of patellofemoral pain is unknown but it is probably related to the way the kneecap (patella) moves into the groove of the thigh bone (femur).

Treating the pain
Generally, place an ice pack on his knee, change their activities and a physical therapy program work well in treating the pain. This type of program may include certain exercises to strengthen muscles and make them more flexible. Bandaging the knee may be helpful for some people. Overall it can take weeks or months of treatment before the pain goes away.

Tips to help ease your pain
Take a break from any physical activity that may cause impact on the legs such as running, playing volleyball or basketball. If you want to continue with exercising, then try swimming or other low-impact activity. You may want to try training with non-impact elliptical machines that are popular at gyms. Because these machines support your body weight, there is less pressure on the knees. As the knee recovers, you can eventually return to your normal sports activities as long as you remember to do it slowly, increasing the pace carefully untilyou are back to your regular routine.

Talk to your doctor about footwear as proper footwear can help in easing the pain by absorbing the impact.

Putting ice on the knee for 10 to 20 minutes after activities can also relieve pain and speed up the healing process. Drugs such as ibuprofen may also help ease your pain, but talk to your doctor before taking any sort of medication.

Patellofemoral pain can be difficult to treat and your knees will not get better overnight. Some people are lucky and get better quickly. However, it may take up to 6 weeks or longer to totally improve.

Tendonitis Knee Information

Tendonitis refers to the inflammation of the tendon and tendonitis knee is in reference to the pain associated with the tendon of the knee. Tendonitis pain is often described as a sharp pain when arising from a chair or squatting. The pain is usually relieved with rest.

Tendonitis knee can occur mainly from overuse of the knee such as in the example of runners and weightlifters. In inflammation of the tendon at the front of the kneecap, this condition is referred to as ‘patellar tendonitis'. Inflammation of the tendons just above the front of the knee is termed as 'quadriceps tendonitis'.

 If the sufferer is unable to straighten the knee because of pain over the tendon area, seek medical treatment immediately. In any case of knee pain, it is always best to investigate further with a medical professional who may request an ultrasound scan and/or an MRI scan to be performed.

 

Most cases of tendonitis of the knee respond well to rest and/or physiotherapy although some cases may require cortisone or steroid injections.

In some cases where the symptoms may be severe or where previous treatments have failed, surgical treatment may become the next option to explore.

The human body has a complex mechanism to inform us when something is wrong. Humans tend to ignore these signals and thus can worsen the condition. It is important to stop rest and do something else. Avoid such activities as squatting, kneeling, heavy lifting, climbing, and definitely running when faced with knee pain symptoms.

Main treatments for tendonitis knee are oftern referred to the RICE method (Rest, Ice, Compress, Elevate).

·         Rest. Refrain from activities that caused the tendinitis and those that bring pain to the area. “The more you stress the tendon by running or heavy lifting will worsen the injury and will take longer to recover. Seriously stressing the tendon may even cause permanent damage that may not be reversible.

·         Ice. Apply ice that is wrapped in a towel for about 15 minutes once or twice daily. Applying ice helps reduce the swelling which in turn will lessen the pain and speed up healing of the tendon.

·         Compress. Bandaging the affected knee in an elastic knee bandage or knee support can help reduce swelling and ease knee pain. It also restricts mobility which helps in recovery.

·         Elevate. Occasionally lie down and elevate your knee on a pillow so that it’s higher than the level of your heart. This helps in blood flow and works to reduce swelling at the affected knee.