Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
What is 'patellofemoral pain'?
Patellofemoral pain is a very common problem, and there is no one cause of patellofemoral pain. Sometimes it's called chondromellatio patellae: chrondro means cartilage; mellatio means softening of; and patella means kneecap. It can also be due to a malalignment syndrome, where the kneecap is being pulled off joint, out of center. It can be due to a bursa over the kneecap. But patellofemoral pain is a generalized term which means pain over the front of the knee.
How can I cope with 'patellofemoral pain'?
The main way to deal with patellofemoral pain is to understand what the cause is. Sometimes it can be the type of exercise that you are doing. For example, running stairs for exercise, doing deep squats, overlifting, or doing leg extensions. It can come from running down hills or hiking hills. Patellofemoral pain can also come from riding a bike in too high a gear, or riding with the seat too low. There are a number of causes along with physiologic causes of the problem, which is the way you're aligned, foot and ankle problems, lower limb alignment and overuse.
