Patellofemoral Syndrome
Posted , 7 users are following.
I saw the Dr today. He x-rayed my knee. I had been told years ago that I was developing arthritis in my knee but today I was told I did not have arthritis. That is a good thing. But, he said I probably have Patellofemoral Syndrome. When I looked it up online, the symptoms do not match up. It does not hurt under the knee cap, it hurt along side the knee cap, interior, lateral. It does not hurt going down the stairs, it hurts going up the stairs and climbing hills. The pain does come and go but mostly I have pain. It doesn't matter if my knee has been bent or not the pain is there. I wake up with pain in the side of my knee. Do you think this is truly Patellofemoral Syndrome? I was thinking I had a problem with ligaments or tendons. Any advice? I start PT next week. He did mention maybe an MRI if PT doesn't help. He said a scope wouldn't help. Thanks.
1 like, 12 replies
johnny17592 victoria13635
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The doctors diagnoses sounds about right on what i have read on patellofemoral syndrome have you been very athletc in your younger days pardon the pun but it seems to be very relevant to my knee problems i sufferd for 40 odd years but my tkr seemed tto put a stop to all the pain
i hope you get some relief soon good luck
Johnny.
victoria13635 johnny17592
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HI. No need to worry about offending me on my age. Yes, I turned 60 this year. No, I was not overly athletic. I lived in a rural setting (still do) and we rode bikes a lot but that's about it. Where did you find the info on petellofemoral syndrome? Is there anything to help if PT doesn't work? I'm tired of taking ibuprofen every day or just living with the pain. It is hindering me in doing a lot of things. Thanks for your quick reply.
johnny17592 victoria13635
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I was reading about your condition if you Google petellofemoral syndrome there are some very good tips including taping which seems to help without tablets good luck i hope you get some help there keep us posted.
cheryl86544 victoria13635
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That's a good course of action from the doc. Give the physio a go and if no help they will do an mri. Perfect. Why is it perfect? Because he's thinking of a good course of action for you. So hard to find docs that think like this. Do your PT, see how it goes, do what you can and a bit more, then back to him for an MRI.
victoria13635 cheryl86544
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cheryl86544 victoria13635
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victoria13635 cheryl86544
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cheryl86544 victoria13635
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Folieadeux victoria13635
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YES! Lol I have patellofemoral syndrome. I have the exact same symptoms. I had x rays and mris. I was given a supportive compression knee brace, and had 4 weeks of rough physical therapy.
What happens with this is that those ligaments and tendons in your thigh and glutes that connect to your patella, if they weaken or tense up on one side or another respectively (one side tense, one side weak yada yada), it'll pull at your knee and cause it to sit wrong. Resulting in that one cap grinding, popping, slipping whatever, and in time, the cartilage that cushions the knee cap rubbing wrong causes deterioration or fissuring of that cartilage (Which is what happened in my case. Which in turn is causing the patella tracking issue). And yes. It will hurt in those exact places. Either side of the outer part of the knee. Mine can hurt on both lower parts on the outside, same thing on the upper part of the sides of the knee, and also the middle on the underside of my knee. The ligament that connects from the Patella to the top of the Tibia. I have swelling behind the knee cap. All of these problems cause pain on the outer sides of the knee. Make squatting, crouching, going up and down stairs, peddling a bicycle, etc... even just walking around or sitting will cause it to hurt.
My orthopedic surgeon just gave me my first cortisone injection last week. Scope surgery is not a fun experience, and my surgeon said should only be a final resort option. And what they'll do is go in with a small camera and tools, and basically strip away the damaged cartilage so that your knee cap will seat properly, and in turn, hopefully, ease your symptoms. But as he said. Its a last resort, as are most surgeries. Also said that once the damage is done, there is no way to fix the problem. Only management of it. Which SUCKS.
Wishing you the best of luck.
love2walk Folieadeux
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Thanks a lot Folieadeux for your detailed reply ! I am lucky to find this forum.
In early 2015 I had very similar symptoms in my left knee. I saw 2 sports medicine doc. First doc said I have patello-femoral chondro malacia and advised arthro scopic surgery while 2nd doc said it is early onset of osteo-arthritis. I opted for arthro scopic surgery followed by 3 months rehab physical therapy. I lived largely free of pain nearly 2 years. Early this year I had swelling and severe pain in my left knee. Swelling was reduced by NSAID pain killers. Then I went thru physical therapy which helped pain relief a tiny bit temporarily. I got injections of hyaluranic acid a few weeks back. Doc said I have to repeat the injections every 6 to 12 months. He advised me to continue my walking , biking and occasional swimming. There's no blood supply to cartilage and the only way it can get nutrients is by regular movements of knee joint.
marina60461 Folieadeux
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Best regards
victoria13635 marina60461
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Sorry this is so late, just now seeing the notification. It ended up that I had a scope done and I had plica. The surgeon clipped the tendon(?) and it's been a lot better. The sad part is I fell on it about 6 months after the scope and it's been bothering me off and on since.