PFSS - Anterior Knee Pain
What is PFSS – anterior knee pain?
The underside of the kneecap (patella) rests against the thighbone (femur) to form the patellofemoral joint. Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFSS), also known as chondromalacia, causes this area to become overstressed and causes pain in the front of the knee. PFSS – anterior knee pain is one of the most common causes of knee pain among people who are physically active.
Why do you get anterior knee pain? There are several explanations for why you get this type of problem. Here are some examples:
-You have weak muscles on the front of your thigh (quadriceps), which means that your kneecap does not move optimally in the patellofemoral joint, causing pain. If the mobility of your quadriceps is reduced, the pressure in your patellofemoral joint increases, which can cause pain.
-Imbalance in strength between the muscles in the front of the thigh and the muscles in the back of the thigh (hamstrings).
-Pronation, where the ankle falls inward when under load, causes an inward rotation of the knee which in turn can contribute to patellofemoral overload.
-A too high training level that puts too much strain on the knee compared to what it can withstand and the pain in the front of the knee is a fact
Symptoms of chondromalacia
Pain in the knee when running, climbing stairs or walking, for example, which is localized to the front of the knee. Sitting with a bent knee can trigger pain in the knee after a while. A majority have pain in both knees. Both women and men are affected. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly where the pain is, but it is often located around the kneecap or inside the kneecap.
Diagnosing PFSS
Diagnosis is made after a medical history and examination. We look at the hip, knee, lower leg and foot. In the overall picture we also include movement patterns in load for the hip, knee and foot.
Treatment of anterior knee pain
Once we have identified the underlying causes of PFSS, we direct the treatment towards it. The treatment may consist of adjusting the foot position with shoe inserts, knee stabilizing training, stretching of the front and/or back of the thigh. If the patient is a runner, a running analysis may be necessary to optimize the running stride. So initially we want to adjust any unfavorable load positions that may come from the hip, knee, foot. In combination with that, we want to increase patellofemoral load tolerance with strength training. This minimizes the risk of relapse when the original activity is resumed.
