Chrondromalacia

[Stacy]

My knee has been bugging me and of course I did what anyone would do....tried to diagnosis myself via the internet, lol. I'm thinking I may have chondromalacia (and yes, I'll call my doc when the holiday rush is over), but I was curious for those of you who have had an official diagnosis of chondromalacia, where exaclty did/do you feel the most pain and what activities exacerbate it? And, most importantly, can you still do Cathe cardio with the aid of a knee brace??

Thanks,

Stacy

 

[Gettingfit]

Hi Stacy,

you might want to try posting this on the general discussions board for answers to your questions.

I'm ready to take the next step! http://www.smilies-world.de/Smilies/Smilies_klein_1/a_smil09.gif

 

[Gibbee]

I have chondromalacia and recently had surgery to smooth it out. It is a grinding feeling (sometimes painful but always noisy) and in my case didn't really cause much swelling. I am a black belt in taekwondo and have always had crunchy-sounding knees but it worsened from overuse and I also had a small meniscal tear and some wear on the pad on top of my shin bone. Recovery has gone well but usually surgery isn't recommended as a first course of action, so please do not panic.

Doctors prefer (and I had already done this) physical rehab to strengthen the VMO (vastus medialus oblique) muscle in the quads. There is often an imbalance in the quad muscles when this happens. I have a couple of great websites I can refer you to but they're on my other computer and I can't post them right now but they have the exercises that are recommended to strengthen the VMO - and they're so simple it's silly. Makes a big difference, though - and I recommend taking glucosamine / chondroitin / MSM. (My doc does, too.) After several months the joints seem to slide much easier and pain is reduced. Will write more later. Hang in there!

 

[bootyquake]

Thanks for this info. I think I have it too. Every time I jog or do high impact my knee swells up and hurts until I take a week off to recover. And it seems to be getting worse every time. I'm just trying to keep it elevated until my orthopaedist appointment January 10.

What's the prognosis for people who go through therapy or have surgery? Will I ever be able to run again?