What is Chondromalacia Patellae?
(Aliases: CMP, Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome)
Chondromalacia Patellae by definition means "soft cartilage under the knee cap".
Chondromalacia is due to an irritation of the undersurface of the
kneecap. The undersurface of the kneecap, or patella, is covered with a
layer of smooth cartilage. This cartilage normally glides effortlessly
across the knee during bending of the joint. However, in some
individuals with malalignment issues, the kneecap tends to rub against
one side of the knee
joint, and the cartilage surface become irritated, and knee pain is the
result.
This condition often
affects young, otherwise healthy athletes.
The most common occurrence occur with sporting individuals, however, it can effect any member of the populations. It is common in football, cyclists, rowers, tennis, ballet, equestrian, gymnasts, volleyball, weightlifting, skiers, snowboarders and runners.
In other words, any sport that involves running, jumping,squatting and landing.
Plus, the non-sporting person can even experience kneecap pain when descending or ascending stairs.
The condition usually results from either acute injury to the patella joint surface or from
chronic friction between the patella and the groove in the femur (thigh bone) through
which it passes as the knee bends.
Potential causes include a tight lateral knee structures such as the ITB, weak medial quadriceps (vastus medialis oblique - VMO), overpronating feet and weak lateral hip rotator muscles. These muscle imbalances result in a rotational instability that causes the patella to be laterally aligned in the femoral groove, which causes pain for the malalignment.
The good news is that patellar maltracking is very quickly fixed with physiotherapy assessment and intervention. Commonly, patients can leave the clinic pain-free after just one treatment session.
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