Has anyone else dealt with knee chondromalacia? What was your course of treatment and what did you do in PT? Thanks!
I have it. Treatment consisted of strengthening the VO muscle- the one on the inner top part of knee. Leg extensions are good for this. Also lying on back: Lift leg from hip and go straight up then Left then right (making a T shape). I also did ice massage after work outs- freeze water in a dixie cup and rub over and around knee until all the ice is melted. I am an over-pronator (foot tends to roll inward) so I need to wear motion control running shoes and custom orthotics. When knee is painful, I found it best to back off from training for a week and then I was good to go again (counterproductive to keep pushing when knee flares up). I ran a lot of races including a marathon (hope to do more when I retire and have more time). I was diagnosed in my very early 20s- 30 years older now! Good luck to you.
Thanks so much, Muk! Very kewl on your athletic accomplishments!
I’ve been dealing with this for close to 20 years- it began when I was a kid. Brushed off for a long time as growing pains. Have you had an MRI? It’s important to try to find the cause- ex. Mukluk’s pronation. I have a tilted patella which kicked off the damage, and then the maltracking caused by tight lateral ligaments and poor alignment in the knee compounded the problem.
I exhausted pretty much all of the non-surgical treatment options as a child/teen- custom orthotics to control pronation, and loads of PT (focused on strengthening the surrounding muscles, the VMO in particular; electrical stimulation for both strengthening and pain relief; ITB massage; bracing and taping, etc). Eventually I was presented with a surgical option, which I declined. The PT helped to a point, but after a while the repetitive exercises began to cause increased pain, so I mostly just did the estim. I also received cortisone injections in the knee every 6 months for a few years.
I realize that is not very positive- sorry! I will say that I was dancing in an intensive pre-professional program from ages 12-17, which is when the pain was the worst, and I backed off in college but still danced about 16 hours a week. I managed the pain in college with bracing/taping, NSAIDs and icing A LOT. After college, I stopped dancing, and the pain significantly decreased to a manageable level (it still bothers me, but not every day and I rarely take anything for it). I occasionally get a cortisone injection, but it is very infrequent. Modifying your activity level may help, at least initially while you seek treatment.
From my understanding, most cases respond well to non-surgical treatment, and there seem to be very good surgical options if it comes to that (and if mine got worse again, I would probably have the surgery). Definitely push for thorough diagnostics- gait evaluation, X-ray, MRI, etc and find a good PT who specializes in knees. Best of luck to you! Please feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.
Braces and taping…
And good shoes! Another over pronater here…
Also riding! Posting trot. Build up muscles to help patella track correctly.
When I did PT, they did electrostim. Helped for a while, but not permanently…
Had it for 20-30 years…
Can’t run, but I can still ski, ride and play pickleball…
I also did the taping thing for awhile. The best things for me were having the right shoes for running (motion control shoes) with custom orthotics to minimize overpronating, doing exercises to strengthen muscles that help patella track straight, ice massage after runs, and taking a week off from running when I needed to.
The other thing about chondromalacia is I can’t think of a condition that is more fun to pronounce using a “Valley Girl” accent. “Oh my God, I have like Chondromalacia!”
I’ve had it for about 6 years now. I did PT but didn’t keep up with it. It was leg raises of different sorts and different exercises using bands, mostly strengthing the muscles which were the same as Mukluk.
At the time I was a runner, and stopping running a few years ago helped the pain and I haven’t had that same pain since, but I recently found out I have mild arthritis mostly because I didn’t keep up with the PT exercises. But since I’m only 21 I really wish I had!
If you keep up with the PT exercises, it should help at least a little bit!
Thanks so very much, all. COTHers are awesome!
(Have you had an MRI?). Not yet. I am seeing the ortho again this week for x-rays and further diagnosis. Are MRIs a much better exam for chondromalacia ? Good point about finding out exactly what is causing the patella problem.
A few months ago, I moved into a house that we are leasing for a year. It has stairs and I never had really lived in a house with stairs. I found out that I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE STAIRS and had underlying knee/patella issues. I have now moved my bedroom to the main floor and only do the stupid stairs once a day to get a shower. It’s not a comfortable way to live. 
Again, thanks so very much to each and every one of you. I truly appreciate your kindness, knowledge and help. I’ll update as I find out more.
Had it for 20 years. Physio to strengthen the right muscles and get the patella tracking properly. Weight training. Orthotics and good shoes.
At the end of the summer I had a fall and fractured my lateral tibial plateau. It healed fine with rest and crutches but the MRI I had for that injury revealed just how bad the cartilage loss in my knee is and how bad the damage has been. Ortho injected with hyaluronic acid and already in just a week it is soooo much more comfortable and I am actually able to do my physio exercises now. Maybe worth asking about?
AFAIK- and I am no medical professional- chondromalacia simply means wear/softening of the cartilage. Something is causing it- overuse, maltracking of the patella, etc. For me, it was fairly obvious that the patella wasn’t tracking properly (visible without any imaging) but the MRI showed that the patella was also tilted, and that (combined with the lack of results from PT) prompted the recommendation for surgery. Definitely push to find out what the cause is- cartilage damage is no joke! Good luck to you.
I’ve had it for almost 20 years. Early on did some very ineffective self PT, prescribed by doc. A knee brace or McDavid strap helps alot. The KT tape does wonders. Mine acts up whenever I gain weight; I can feel the difference a pound or two makes.
You mention stairs - that was what clued me in. I was on an aircraft carrier. Talk about stairs. My office/work area was 5 flights of stairs below my sleeping quarters.:eek: Worst was when I stood bridge watches and had to go down 7 levels to start a pre-watch tour that went back up 13 levels. :disgust: I wore a knee brace for 3 years. Also took a lot of drugs.
^^^^ Eeeek! Stairs are EVIL and that is a crazy amount of stairs, Red Mares.
It amazes me when people say they will make you really strong. Often, they can screw you up, plus the hazard of falls. Never again will I have a property with stairs.
Good point about the weight. I’m a normal weight but have been losing because I"m so miserable here and I know it will help the body cope better.
Update from my ortho appointment today. X-rays were taken, which showed the patellas being a bit too lateral and a fluidly cyst in one knee due to the irritation. He prescribed Voltaren tablets, Pennsaid topical gel (which is Voltaren gel and DMSO) and gave me a script for PT. Thanks to everyone for all the help!
So sorry you are dealing with yet another malady, hopefully this turns out to be an easy fix. Very sorry to hear that your move to Maryland has not been a positive one.
Thanks, Laurie. I’m really glad to hear your shoulder is behaving, btw.
The area is nice although I don’t think we are in quite the best specific location for equestrians. I’ve learned that whatever driving time Googe maps tells me it will take to drive somewhere, I need to add on at least 1/3 more.
I foolishly didn’t consider how hard stairs would be on my fairly fragile self. As said, the main floor living room is becoming my bedroom. It’s been really hard and I think, has set off a few underlying inflammatory issues I have (knees & some mild hand arthritis) that weren’t usually a big problem. Thank goodness it is just a lease.
