Patella Femoral Syndrome

[JDkeystone]

Does anyone here have Patella Femoral Syndrome, or is familiar with it? I've been doing a lot of research online for the past week (actually, ever since I subluxed my knee 2 weeks ago), and even though I haven't been officially diagnosed with this, I'm starting to believe this is what I have. The initial swelling and pain I first had has gone away, but I still have varying pain when walking for long periods, which (if I don't rest in between) makes going down stairs (climbing not so much) EXTREMELY difficult. Also, when I'm standing straight up and let the back of my knee jut out, it feels like something might snap if I don't consciously keep my knee from going too far in. Is this at all indicative of something being torn or frayed, or is likely still just stretched from the subluxation? I had an ultrasound a week ago, but was told there was no tears or obvious damage found, and that I had just stretched the ligaments and tendons.

I'm supposed to start physiotherapy for my knee next week, but I was looking online and found this program called Patella Femoral Solutions, which is supposed to provide all and any info needed for treating PFS. Link here:

http://www.sports-injury-info.com/patella-femoral-solutions.html

Would this be worth ordering, or should I just stick with whatever I'm given at physio? Or does anyone know of any other e-programs for treating PFS? This experience has been absolutely devestating for me (since I literally just finished recovering from shoulder surgery), so if anyone can offer any advice or assistance, it would be extremely appreciated!! Thanks... :(

[tennisrox24]

From my experience patellofemoral syndrome (PFS) is more of a chronic/muscle imbalance type of injury. Typically, someone with this has some sort of underlying abnormality such as tight IT bands, muscle imbalance, or they have flat feet. When you subluxate your patella you typically tear some of the connective tissue and supporting fascia around the patella. This can take a fair amount of time to heal. I would suggest seeing what your physio says which is probably similar to what you found online. First you will have to make sure the area heals, then you will begin to strengthen the supporting structures.
How exactly did you injure your knee? Do you have any popping, snapping, or catching sensations? The reason I ask is because if you had a traumatic injury and it is painful going down stairs you may have torn a meniscus.
Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

[hockey1234]

I have patella femoral and apparently most people are born with it. Custom made orthotics, or a knee brace may help avoid pain, and also physio can give you excercises to help strengthen the surrounding muscles around your knee. Best to have a physiotherapist look at it first though.
Good luck.

[JDkeystone]

From my experience patellofemoral syndrome (PFS) is more of a chronic/muscle imbalance type of injury. Typically, someone with this has some sort of underlying abnormality such as tight IT bands, muscle imbalance, or they have flat feet. When you subluxate your patella you typically tear some of the connective tissue and supporting fascia around the patella. This can take a fair amount of time to heal. I would suggest seeing what your physio says which is probably similar to what you found online. First you will have to make sure the area heals, then you will begin to strengthen the supporting structures.
How exactly did you injure your knee? Do you have any popping, snapping, or catching sensations? The reason I ask is because if you had a traumatic injury and it is painful going down stairs you may have torn a meniscus.
Hopefully this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Hey thanks for the reply. I subluxed my knee about 2 weeks ago doing lunges on a bosu ball (under the direction of a trainer at the gym). It popped out and them immediately popped back in, but it swelled up pretty bad and I could barely walk on it for the first few days. I was given an anti-inflammatory, and iced it like crazy for the first week til the swelling finally went down and I was able to start walking on it fairly normally for short distances without limping. But if I try to walk on it for longer periods (like 20 min and up) it starts to hurt, and I cannot take any stairs at that point without resting it first. It also periodically feels unstable when walking around, or when I straighten my leg too hard while standing, where the knee starts to jut inward too far. Also, when I look at the patella "bump" on my bad knee, it looks noticeably puffier than my good knee.

But all 3 doctors I've seen (as well as the clinic where I had an ultrasound done on my knee) said I didn't tear anything, and that it was just caused by my lax joints (I have hypermobility of the joints). I was then told to start doing physio to strengthen the area, cuz there wasn't much else that could be done. I would normally believe this, if it wasn't for the pain I'm still getting. Assuming nothing was torn, how long would it normally take for the pain and swelling to completely go away?


I have patella femoral and apparently most people are born with it. Custom made orthotics, or a knee brace may help avoid pain, and also physio can give you excercises to help strengthen the surrounding muscles around your knee. Best to have a physiotherapist look at it first though.
Good luck.

Thanks for your reply, too. I actually also bought a knee brace today (just an OTC brace from the drugstore). It did seem to help a bit for walking around, so I'm gonna wear it to the gym tomorrow and see if can improve my workout, as well.