Patellofemoral kneecap pain

[parryDoh]

Fencing for many years I always have had pain around and under my kneecap. After fencing a little the pain goes away and comes back after I cool down a bit. I finally decided to see a sports medicine doctor on the problem. First thing he did was xrayed my knees and examined them. The xrays looked good, he said no problem with cartiage and no signs of wear. He found my hamstrings, calves and glutes were tight. My knees were weak on control on small knee bends. Which surprised me because I fence alot and been fencing for a while. Also my back leg was alot stronger then my front leg. Not a surprise =)

For treatment
*Ice knees twice a day to reduce inflammation, preferrable after activity
*Stretch to increase flexiblity in hamstrings, calves glutes. He said this would "unload" the kneecap.
*Strength train to increase knee control: quartersquats, stepdowns and stepups.
*Strength train to build VMO muscle.
*Full length othopedic insert.

He didnt tell me to stop fencing which was a relief. Last night at the club I talked to another fencer having the same problem. He done the same thing I started out doing several years back, a leg brace. Which never helped me. Any other fencers out there with this problem? or anyone that has had this problem and overcame it? Im only a couple weeks in the treatment.

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

Yeah, I've got it. The only I've found is an infrapatellar strap like this

it made all my pain go away, it can help you too.

[parryDoh]

Yeah, I've got it. The only I've found is an infrapatellar strap like this

it made all my pain go away, it can help you too.

I will definately try it. Probably pick up a couple on the way to the club tonite. What does it do? Hold the kneecap up keeping it from moving freely? How long did it take for the knee to heal after u started using it?

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I will definately try it. Probably pick up a couple on the way to the club tonite. What does it do? Hold the kneecap up keeping it from moving freely? How long did it take for the knee to heal after u started using it?

Yeah, keeps the cap from slidin on down. As far as healing goes, I never really gave much thought to it. It certainly makes the pain and popping much less severe when its bad. So, basically, just put it on when your knee starts popping and aching.

Does anyone here have experience with an ache on the inner thigh of the front leg after doing alot of long, fast lunges?

[ThatReallyHurt]

Yeah, keeps the cap from slidin on down. As far as healing goes, I never really gave much thought to it. It certainly makes the pain and popping much less severe when its bad. So, basically, just put it on when your knee starts popping and aching.

Does anyone here have experience with an ache on the inner thigh of the front leg after doing alot of long, fast lunges?

I was having some discomfort, but my form was wrong - when doing fast lunges, I'd pull my front knee to the left (I'm a righty) slightly, then I'd be using the muscles on the inside of my thigh to do some of the work of lifting me back up. Coach caught it and it went away.

[epeeisky]

I was having pain so I went to my orthopedic surgeon and it turns out that my ACL had atrefied(not torn) 80%. If your knee gives out that is a sign of a ligamnet injury.

[sabreur]

I use these: https://secure.cho-pat.com/products/...roduct_type=10.

I believe the root cause is usually an imbalance between quad and hamstring strength.

MR

[JEC]

I use these: https://secure.cho-pat.com/products/...roduct_type=10.

I believe the root cause is usually an imbalance between quad and hamstring strength.

MR

This is almost on target. The imbalance is between the groups of muscles making the quadriceps which attaches through the patella on the tibia. A simplification (quad = 4) is to think of them as two groups: the external or lateral, and the internal or medial. The external is the largest and gets activated when lifting weights all the way of the extent of knee extension. The internal or medial is only gets progressively activated during the last 30 degrees of extension. Most people doing knee extension weight lifting put the most weight they can carry. Thus, they give a huge workout to the external side of the quad, but as they get to the last 20 degrees, they are unable to complete the complete knee extension because the internal side of the quad begins to take over and is relatively weaker than the external side. They key is to do 40-50 repetitions with less weight starting at about 30 degrees all the way to full knee extension. If you do that 2-3 times per week in a few months, you might not need a cho pat strap.

I agree that the best thing is to consult a Sports Medicine doctor and/or a licensed Physical therapist for specific advise about your condition, and the above does not constitute medical advise despite being a medical professional. I have had two knee surgeries and gone through sports medicine rehab a few times.

Good luck on your recovery!

[qatet]

Well, JEC took the words right out of my mouth. And ThatReallyHurt, you should notice that you DO want to use the inner quad muscles in recovering from your lunge. That's one of the few actual fencing-related excersizes that can help.

ParryDoh, I had the same problem years ago. Orthos and physical therapy (then every day, twice a day for some time, now just a solid weight-training regime) were all the solution I needed. If you can get away with not using a brace, you might as well do so.