Patellofemoral Syndrome

Patellofemoral syndrome is a condition where there is pain on the front of the knee, often over and around the kneecap (the patella). Also known as “runner’s knee” or “jumper’s knee”, patellofemoral syndrome occurs as an overuse injury of the knee. 

In other instances, a person may develop patellofemoral syndrome from hitting their knee during a fall or collision. Also, if a person has abnormal tracking of their kneecap as it passes through the groove on the femur, this can lead to patellofemoral syndrome.

What It Feels Like

Patellofemoral syndrome usually feels an ache or pain on the front of the knee, over the knee cap. It can occur in both knees, or only one. It gets worse with more activity and better with less.

It may also hurt bending the affected knee, like when walking up the stairs or squatting. The knee will probably make popping or cracking sounds as well.

A person will have full use of their knee (full range of motion) with this condition; however use is limited by pain. They can bear weight on the knee with no issues and it shouldn’t lock out either.

Causes

Patellofemoral syndrome is usually caused by overuse of the knees from running or other activities. Oftentimes the muscles that work along with the patella and attach to it are too weak to sustain long-term use and they may be too tight as well.

When the tendon that comes out of the quad muscles and inserts into and around the patella becomes stressed, patellofemoral syndrome is simply a name for inflammation of that tendon/area of the knee.

This is really another form of tendonitis but named based on its location in the body.

Treatment

Treating patelllofemoral syndrome should involve:

1. Rest (it’s difficult to heal an injury by repeating the motions that initially caused it!)

2. Manual therapy (stretching, strengthening and massage)

3. Natural medicines to limit pain, decrease inflammation and speed tissue repair:

• Inflammation Relief contains systemic enzymes that help break down pain-generating chemicals which the body produces in response to injury and inflammation. It also speeds healing by improving oxygen and nutrient delivery to damaged areas.
  
• Joint Formula contains nutrients that protect the joints from wear and tear and promote cartilage regeneration.
  
• Curcumin Relief is a highly absorbable form of the herb turmeric. We use it in all cases of inflammation due to its very powerful anti-inflammatory effects, without the side effects of over the counter medications like ibuprofen.
  
• Essential Fatty Acids omega-3 fats are an important addition to anyone’s supplement regimen because they help tip the balance away from inflammation that can result from over-consumption of pro-inflammatory foods.

Standard medical therapy for patellofemoral syndrome and other forms of tendonitis always call for using ice; however we would argue against this because it’s an old therapy with no good data on speeding tissue healing - In fact using ice will actually slow healing (even though it reduces pain). Ice will slow the delivery of blood to the area which also slows the delivery of immune cells that orchestrate tissue repair and healing.

Patellofemoral syndrome is another name for a specific type of tendonitis on and surrounding the knee cap. An overuse injury, it requires rest, stretching, strengthening and the use of natural medicines to limit inflammation and speed tissue repair.