Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome in Runners: Pain in the Knee
Patello-femoral pain is also known as chondramalacia patella and it is the most common running knee problem. In this condition, you feel pain and swelling under and around your knee cap. Also, you have to be very careful because the pain can get worse if you sit or run for a very long time. The pain can be in both knees or only one knee and it can be associated with the “crunching” sensation when the knee is put through range of motion. The cause of the patella femoral pain is hard to know, but it’s been described as having something to do with the way your kneecap moves on the groove of your thigh bone known as the femur.
The causing factors for this condition includes over usage and overload of the knee joint, described as too much, too soon, too fast syndrome. Other causes are muscular imbalance or weakness, and biomechanical problems. This type of pain is more in common with women than men because of the “Q” angle of the hips in women. The Q angle represents the relationship and alignment between the pelvis, leg and foot. Women tend to have a higher Q angle, meaning their patella is off centered. This leads to tracking problems, meaning your knee cap is not very stable.
To relieve this type of knee pain you need to take breaks from running and any other activities that can cause lot of pounding on your legs. Another thing you can do is to practice rest activities like swimming, biking, or the elliptical trainer that supports the body weight and less stress is placed on the knees. After you see progress in the knees feeling little better, then you can go back to your normal activities but starting slowly then gradually increasing your distance and speed. Stretching is very important because your quad muscles control the movement of the knee cap and weakness in this muscle group is a recognized cause of this syndrome. Another option is to go visit our podiatrist office to get custom orthotics for running that will stabilize your biomechanics and relieve stress off your knees.
You can also try the icing method, which is simple. Ice the knees for ten to twenty minutes after the activities to ease the pain and speed up the healing process. Even if you do not have this condition, it is good to ice your knees and lower back after a run in order to decrease the swelling in these powerful joints and to prevent problems.
For the most part you need to keep patient because this condition can be tough to treat and the healing process won’t take place overnight. It may take six weeks or longer to get better. To avoid getting this pain again you want to avoid the too fast, too soon, too much syndrome. Most patients will get better with the conservative treatment quickly if they maintain discipline.
