Knee pain, and how to treat it

Knee pain, and how to treat it

At one point or another, most people (athletes or not) may experience knee pain. This could possibly be a common problem, known as Patellofemoral Syndrome — also called Chondromalacia or Runner’s Knee. Now, you don’t have to be strictly a runner to be afflicted by this condition.

What Patellofemoral Syndrome is, in a nutshell, the inflammation of the cartilage of the kneecap (patella), which prevents it from gliding smoothly within the femoral groove, found at the end of your thighbone (femur).

When inflamed, the now softened cartilage of the patella doesn’t track properly in this groove, causing a roughening of the patella’s undersurface and pain or discomfort in the knee.

The injury often comes on gradually. At first, your knee is a little sore during your workout, but not enough to stop. Soon, it becomes a more regular and pronounced pain, until you finally relent to the injury.

Luckily, there are several ways to help rehabilitate the injury and prevent future occurrences. One of the best tools that our Fitting Experts at Kintec recommend is a foam roller.

You may have seen these on CBC’s Dragon’s Den! The benefit of the roller is that, when used properly, it helps to break up adhesions that form between the fascia and muscles. These adhesions can affect things like the tracking of your knee. It is also a great way to increase circulation to injured muscles, similar to like a massage, which speeds up the recovery process.

Other forms of rehabilitation include strengthening weak muscles as prescribed by a sports injury specialist and getting fitted for proper footwear or orthotics. A patella sleeve can also help to control patella tracking.

If you would like to learn more about solutions for your knee pain or other commonly occurring injuries, stop by Kintec and speak to one of our Fitting Experts!

You can also download our medical brochure on Patellofemoral Syndrome here for more information.