Patellofemoral pain (runners knee) is an insidious injury that kind of creeps up on you. It affects both athletes and non athletes alike. It typically presents as pain in or under the knee cap. This makes it very frustrating as you can\u2019t quiet put your finger on it. The cause of patellofemoral pain (PFP) is likely multi factorial, with different factors contributing to varying degrees in\u00a0each individuals pain. Uncovering which factors contribute to the pain presentation is challenging.<\/p>\n
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The synovium, bursea, plica, lateral retinaclumn, fat pads etc\u00a0are a number of soft tissue structures that have a pain producing potential in the knee. All these potential sources of pain\u00a0muddy the water a bit. However finding which is producing\u00a0the pain may not be so important. What\u2019s more pertinent is which factors are contributing to the\u00a0pain.<\/p>\n
Typically, going up but especially coming down stairs or downhill will evoke pain.\u00a0A prolonged sitting position with knee bent (long drives or sitting at the cinema) will also produce pain. The knee may feel stiff and a bit puffy. Any giving away is probably due to muscle inhibition from\u00a0the pain. You may or may not hear noises (crepitus) in the knee. Anything else that loads the knee (squats, lunges, leg press, etc) will also result in pain.<\/p>\n
How we move affects how much load is placed on our knees. The shape of our bones and strength of our (hip) muscles have an impact on the load placed on the knee.\u00a0Research shows\u00a0<\/a>that a targeted strength programme tailored to meet the patients clinical findings in combination with \u201coff the shelf\u201d foot orthotics \u00a0is best practice. Other modalities such as\u00a0taping<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0manual therapy\u00a0<\/a>can have a positive effect on pain and function when used with a targeted strengthening programme. Most suffers start to feel relief from 6-12 weeks after starting a rehabilitation programme.<\/p>\n