Jun 20, 2021

General Post

What is Patello-Femoral Pain Syndrome?

The Patello-Femoral Pain Syndrome is a medical term that refers to the pain that occurs in the joint located behind the kneecap. The pain surrounds your kneecap. It is one of the most common orthopaedic musculoskeletal disorders. The location of Patellofemoral Joint is behind the knee cap (Patella) and the lower portion of your thigh (Femur).

Causes of  Patello-Femoral Pain

The femoral groove usually causes the gliding movement of the patella. When you bend your knee, the pressure exerted on your kneecap and on the groove increases. If your patella does not move smoothly through the groove, it exerts extra pressure resulting in ‘mistracks’, which means that it moves more on the one side than the other, rubbing against the femur.

Due to repetitive injury, the force of retro patellar joint increases, leading to pain in the kneecap and irritation in the joint, which eventually causes patella joint surface degeneration.

Patellofemoral pain affects nearly 25% of the population at some point in their lives. It has been observed commonly in athletes who engage in sports like football, basketball, tennis, skiing or running.

If the syndrome is left untreated, it can lead to a severe form of disorder called patellar tendonitis.

There can also be biochemical causes of the Patello-Femoral Pain such as poor posture of foot and weak control over hip-muscles.

Symptoms of Patello-Femoral Pain

• The onset of Patello-Femoral Pain is gradual and the symptoms usually become visible during weightlifting tasks or jarring activities that involves the bending of the knee.
• Knee pain while climbing the stairs, squatting, running, jumping, kneeling or hopping
• You may also experience pain in kneecap while sitting on a chair because you have to bend your kneecaps. This condition is known as ‘theatre knee’.
• With the progress of the syndrome, you will feel pain while walmonarch.

How Monarch’s Physiotherapy Clinic Can Help You in Relieving Kneecap Pain?

Our physiotherapy treatments offer highly effective short as well as long-term solutions for treating pain in your kneecap. With a guided physiotherapy program offered at Monarch’s Physiotherapy Clinic in Calgary, a majority of patients suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome are pain free in 6-8 weeks. Only those patients do not respond well to the treatments who suffer from severe kneecap injury or damage to the joint surface.

Our professional and skilful physiotherapists develop a custom treatment plan initially aimed at reducing pain and inflammation and then rectify the root cause to prevent a recurrence in the long run. Various physiotherapy techniques, strengthening exercises combined with icing, and anti-inflammatory medications are used to ease pain and restore normal functioning.

Let us restore your strength, agility and speed with Patello-Femoral Pain management, book your appointment now!