Knee pain is one of the most common complaints heard in the doctor’s office today, but there are several different types and causes for this type of discomfort and the issue addressed in this article is knee pain due to chondromalacia of the patella, or patello-femoral syndrome.
- Symptoms: The symptoms associated with this type of problem are pain felt in front of the knee joint which is often accompanied by a crunching or grinding sensation.
- Causes: The most common causes of knee pain due to chondromalacia of the patella, or patello-femoral syndrome is wear and tear of the soft cartilage tissues from overuse, over-pronation, or the aging process.
- Treatment: Primary treatments include rest, ice therapy, physiotherapy, and regular use of orthotics.
Symptoms
Chondromalacia is a vague term that refers to pain between the knee cap and the underlying femur bone; it also the most common kind of knee pain and the type that is characterized by a crunching or grinding sensation. This condition causes tenderness and discomfort in the front part of the knee that tends to worsen after extensive periods of sitting. Climbing the stairs is also often an issue for people suffering from chondromalacia.
What Causes Knee pain?
While there can be several reasons for the development of knee pain (such as sudden injury) this particular type of pain is usually the result of wear and tear caused by overuse or age. Athletes such as rugby players, football players, and runners are all vulnerable to this type of deterioration.
When the cartilage found beneath the patella (knee cap) begins to soften this can lead to small patches of broken-down tissue that causes the knee cap to rub against the femur (thigh bone) instead of gliding gently across it. The erosion of the cartilage can occur to varying degrees ranging from mild to severe.
Over-pronation of the feet is another common culprit with knee pain due to chondromalacia of the patella, or patello-femoral syndrome. The knee links the lower leg to the upper leg and while it was designed to flex and bend it was not meant to rotate. This means that when foot over-pronates (rolls inward too deeply or for too long a time) the lower leg also rotates inward, which eventually leads to wear and tear on the knee joint and the pain that is often the result of long-term damage.
Treatment
Orthotics are by and far the best treatment method for addressing knee pain due to chondromalacia of the patella, or patello-femoral syndrome. Dr Foot orthotics prevent over-pronation of the feet and thereby help to re-establish proper function of the lower limbs and the knee. When the biomechanical functioning of the feet has been corrected through the use of orthotics internal rotation of the knee becomes limited, which leads to a substantial reduction in knee pain.
Dr Foot orthotics were designed by a top podiatrist in the US and have helped thousands of sufferers word-wide reduce their pain levels and reclaim a more normal standard of living.