There are many different causes for knee pain:

Medial Ligament Strain

Lateral Ligament Strain,

Anterior Cruciate Ligament strain

Posterior Cruciate Ligament strain

Chondro-malacia Patella, Anterior Knee Pain, Runner's kneen (Outlined below)

Patellar tendonitis

Oosgoold Schlatters

Bursitis

Arthritis

Patellar Subluxation

Pre Patellar bursitis, Housewife's knee

Runner’s Knee

 

Do you suffer from painful knee’s /knee?

If so you might have ”Anterior knee pain / Runner’s knee / Chondromalcicia Patella”.

All are basically the same condition, and have symptoms of

1.      Pain in the front of knee.

2.      Pain on stairs / hills, coming down worse than going up.

3.      Squatting.

4.      Kneeling.

5.      Holding the knee in one position for a long time.

6.      Pain behind the knee.

7.      Dislike of pressure on the front of the knee.

 

The cause of this pain is due to friction or irritation between the patella (kneecap) and femur (thigh bone).

 

Why does it happen? It will occur because of the following:-

 

1. If you have flat feet or knock knees then the position of the kneecap will alter.

[ Try this:- Stand and look at your knees, now lift up the instep of your foot. Look at how your knee moves.]

As a result of flat feet, your knee cap position alters and so the pull of the muscles in the front of your thigh alters, and the kneecap can be pulled out of line.

 

2.Any injury to any part of the leg, which caused you to limp, or not use your leg for a period of more than 48 hours. This causes a weakness or imbalance on the front of your thigh and affects the movement of the kneecap

 

 The muscle on the inside of the front of your thigh will waste if you have been immobile for any length of time, and if it is weakened then again, the kneecap will be pulled out of line.

 

In both of the above cases an imbalance between the muscle groups will occur resulting in lateral tracking of the patella or kneecap and subsequently wear and tear to the back of the kneecap.

In some cases this may become so severe that the kneecap dislocates or 'subluxes' out of the femoral grove where it naturally moves, this can cause severe knee pain

3.If the iliotibial band is also tight it will affect the pull on the knee. This is very common in runners

4. As a direct result of a blow to, or a fall on the kneecap, which may cause bruising where the kneecap hits the bone behind.

 

Who gets it?

 

Anyone can get this condition, but it is most common in young athletes, with there being a slightly higher incidence in females than males.

 

Is it treatable?

 

Yes. It is very treatable.

The first thing to do is get it properly assessed to ascertain which of the above is the cause of your specific problems.

In all cases, treatment will involve an exercise programme with / without postural taping of your kneecap, to re-align it and maintain it in its correct position.

You may need release and stretching exercises for other muscles affecting the area.

You will need strengthening exercises for certain muscle groups and you may be advised to do Core strngthening or pilates too.

You may also need orthotic insoles to correct the position of your foot if this is part of the problem.

 

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