Are u suffering from Runners knee?

My knee is hurting whenever I climb down the stairs or run downhill said one of my patients who is a sports person and physically very active. He was worried as he thought he had some major knee problem, but on examining him he was diagnosed as having runners knee. Runners knee is very common now a days and hence I decided to write about it today.

What is runners knee??

Runners knee or patellofemoral joint syndrome is when the knee cap starts rubbing against the underlying bone causing improper movement of the quadriceps muscle leading to pain and restricted movement.
It is often Misdiagnosed as osteoarthritis of knee joint as the symptoms are some what the same.

Runners knee is common in young adults specially runners and hence the name. However it is also seen in individuals who play games like basket ball, volley ball or who tend to walk a lot.

 Causes:

1. Weak knee and hip muscles.
2. Tight calf and hamstring muscle
3. Improper training techniques
4. Biomechanical issues like flat feet
5. Weak gluteal muscles

Symptoms:

• Pain is the major symptom and is usually noticed on the front side of the knee and sometimes around the knee cap.
• Swelling may or may not be present
• Reduced joint of motion are some of the main symptoms.

Treatment:

• First line of treatment is to reduce the pain which can be done by medications like NSAIDs , pain killer
• Physiotherapy:
• Modalities like ultrasound, ift, tens can be used to reduce pain.
• Taping for any correction and pain relief
• Exercise therapy: strengthening of weak muscles and stretching of tight muscles along with gluteal muscles activation.
• Orthosis: arch support for flat feet, quadriceps tendon support.

Prevetion:

Proper technique and foot wear.

Warm up before any sport.

Use of any orthosis if required

These are just basic exercises but if you r having any problem you need to show it to the doctor.