patellofemoral pain syndrome

[bluenose]

Has anyone gone through this and what sort of treatment did you go through?

I have had this for several years and it has been getting worse over time. The pain has developed from my right IT band being very tight and pulling on both my vastus lateralis and my patella. As a result I have developed a cyst on my right knee.
I have gone for ART ( which is really good, but $$), taping the knee cap into place, icing, motrin, stretching the IT band and orthotics. Some days it feels so good and squating is no problem, but other days it is so painful that every day movements hurt.

If anyone has gone through this I would like to hear what you have gone through and what has worked the best!

B.

[ubcpower]

Hey Bluenose, what i thought was an IT band issue , and i guess it was in some respects, was actually all stemming from poor hip allignment and a very tight and inflamed psoas muscle. Google psoas muscle and check out some of the symptoms and try some of the stretches they suggest. You may want to cross over to chiropractor to get some work done too.
all the best, i am struggling with the same thing atmoment

[Prisoner#22]

I have it.

Been flat footed my entire life. Didn't know it was such a problem. Spent 5 years pounding the wards on flat feet, and wondering why when i got home my knees ached so much.

Couldn't sit in a movie theatre with my knees bent for long periods of time as it would feel like knives were being stuck through them - A Classic sign (but at the time I didn't know)

Then last year after a summer of wake boarding where I really beat up my knees landing these jumps:

I couldn't even squat anymore, it felt as if I had knives going into my knees.

Tried laser therapy, waste of money... total quakery! or fraud... but the dude who was administering it, watched me walk and right away told me I needed orthotics big time. Said If I didn't get them now, by the time I was in my 40's I may need knee replacements, as the tibial rotation inside my knee was causing it to where down the cartalage of the knee - femur and patella...

I got casted and got the orthotics and wore them relegiously for like 6 months, and used a ton of glucosamine, and fish oil. Now I can sit pain free for hours in the movies, and squating doesn't bother me.

I warm up good though and always stretch the I T bands out... I purchaced a leg abducter /aducter machine for home, as I found using them in the gym prior to doing any quad work really helped put my knees in the correct alignment.

I'm thankfull that this has settled them down as really if I couldn't squat anymore I would have trouble getting bigger in the lower body.

For anyone who is flat footed, I seriously suggest you get arch support, as being flat footed can affect the rest of your body in a negative way.

[natenator]

I have it.

Been flat footed my entire life. Didn't know it was such a problem. Spent 5 years pounding the wards on flat feet, and wondering why when i got home my knees ached so much.

Couldn't sit in a movie theatre with my knees bent for long periods of time as it would feel like knives were being stuck through them - A Classic sign (but at the time I didn't know)

Then last year after a summer of wake boarding where I really beat up my knees landing these jumps:

I couldn't even squat anymore, it felt as if I had knives going into my knees.

Tried laser therapy, waste of money... total quakery! or fraud... but the dude who was administering it, watched me walk and right away told me I needed orthotics big time. Said If I didn't get them now, by the time I was in my 40's I may need knee replacements, as the tibial rotation inside my knee was causing it to where down the cartalage of the knee - femur and patella...

I got casted and got the orthotics and wore them relegiously for like 6 months, and used a ton of glucosamine, and fish oil. Now I can sit pain free for hours in the movies, and squating doesn't bother me.

I warm up good though and always stretch the I T bands out... I purchaced a leg abducter /aducter machine for home, as I found using them in the gym prior to doing any quad work really helped put my knees in the correct alignment.

I'm thankfull that this has settled them down as really if I couldn't squat anymore I would have trouble getting bigger in the lower body.

For anyone who is flat footed, I seriously suggest you get arch support, as being flat footed can affect the rest of your body in a negative way.

Nice! I love wakeboarding!!!

[bluenose]

P#22- Sounds identical to my symptoms and your right sitting feels like knives going into the knee caps. I was doing adductor and abductor prior to squating, but stopped doing abductor since I thought that is may make things even tighter. Maybe I should throw them back into the mix.
Just went today for another round of ART and had my rectus femoris and hamstrings worked on in addition to my vastus lateralis and IT band. Pretty much all the major muscle in my quads are very tight throwing the tracking of my leg out of order.

Cool Pic!!

Thanks ucbpower!

[ubcpower]

Prisoner i have the EXACT same issues. Flat feet and also duck stance with the toes flaring out when i am standing up straight. When i am driving or in movie theatre top of my kneecaps burn like a mother.
I have some $500 arch supports from Kintec Footlabs tht were casted but they are about 5 years old, any idea how long they are supposed to last ? i am thinking mine might need to be replaced

[Chaps]

Dealing with this right now, flat pronated feet, tight IT band and my VMO isn't firing properly. My IT band is almost 100%, i've learned some calf exercises to help strengthen my arch by strengthening your tibialis posterior and just finished 4 rounds of acupuncture to help my vmo. My vmo is starting to fire again but i've been dealing with all this crap for 4 months now and haven't been able to train legs at all or do much cardio , just started peterson step ups i suggest you all google them to help strengthen your vastus medialus and get it working properly to keep your knee is place. Stretching the IT band, getting ART done as well as using a foam roller will all help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vZVq3ov914 here is the calf exercise
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kK29l_3RYP4 here is a peterson step up

I found terminal leg extensions to be crap, just started the peterson step ups and i've already noticed a difference. Also for the arch of your foot put a towel under your bare feet and scrunch it up with your toes by curling your toes in, this will also help your arch. Dealing with this has led me to look for any cure possible lol

[Chaps]

A few other things, once you make it back to squating, do split squats and lunges to help with mobility in your hips and go to atleast 90 degrees preferably lower as that's when your vastus medialus will be engaged more. And terminal leg extensions are completely useless, you just have to get your vmo to fire properly before you can really get much out of them imho. Also when squating again make sure to really try to "spread the floor apart" by pushing your knees outward to get your glutes firing properly, I have JUST started below parallel bodyweight squats and i've had to do this as well as direct glute work to get my glutes back to firing properly. Hopefully this is helpful for you guys, this has been the must frustrating injury i've ever had and i'm just starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, i miss my heavy squats and deads

[ubcpower]

interesting movement that step up. I notice it really hurts when i go UP stairs. Especailly if i skip a stair

[Prisoner#22]

If you are flat footed, and already have patellar femoral syndrome, I don't see any use in trying to 'strengthen the arch’ this point the damage is done, and being done. That damage is to the cartilage inside the knee, from to much tibia rotation. The only way to heal this is to stop doing what is causing the damage. That means getting proper orthotics casted by someone who knows what they are doing, and wearing them at all times to stop drilling into the inside of your knee caps with the ends of your tibia lol.

After you have stopped that, you need to reduce the inflammation. Good old omega 3's is what I use... and to repair... I take 6 grams of glucosamine sulphate twice per day every day, and it makes a huge difference. You may not notice it for the first 3 months, but when it kicks in and eventually, it’s a big help. I was sceptical, but some old guy who was a patient of mine told me about this, and he would know because he had been riddled with arthritic pain, and after three months of taking the glucosamine the pain was substantially less.

Using nandrolone, may also help to alleviate the symptoms, I used it,.. But the important thing is NOT to train because the pain is reducing..... You need to wait until you are pain free, and been off the deca for at least six weeks before you can start loading the joint. There is no point in training on it if you still feel pain, as that just says that the injury is still there and you are making it worse.

Keep in mind Patellar Femoral syndrome if not reversed WILL lead to eventual need for total knee replacement surgery.

There are certain movements I personally won't do. One of them is squats below parallel... but I will hack squat bellow parallel... Everybody's body mechanics are different... basically if it doesn't hurt a bit then you can do it, if you feel any pain or discomfort at all, then I would avoid it.

Stretching is very important... I stretch out the legs a good 3 times per week, and try to be as flexible as possible.

Wearing knee braces that put pressure on the femoral and patellar tendons can help also. There is a good Cho-pat knee brace that I use that does this, and when I go heavy, I wrap my knees so that the pressure of the wraps is on the patella tendon and the femoral tendon, yet at the same time keeps the patella from being pulled outward. Just try to keep the knee cap floating above the joint, not smushed into the joint where it can take more damage

As of right now I have gotten to the point where I no longer have to wear the braces too much so for me things have been going well, and I had to sit through the majority of a Bon Jovi /Kid rock concert where my knees were bent 90 degrees touching a concrete wall for about 4 hours and had no patellar pain so things have really improved for myself.

For a while there I was scared that it was permanent and I would never be able to train my legs hard enough to be able to stimulate anymore growth. But it is really important to catch patellar femoral syndrome early enough that you can do something about it, because once the cartilage is worn away, it is too late.