knee pain

[oroetlaboro]

Does anyone have experience with knee pain diagnosis and treatment? My daughter is an 11 year old Juv. She said she's had mild knee pain in her landing leg off and on for awhile now, but didn't want to tell us about it. She said sometimes it will hurt a bit and then go away - on and off the ice. This past Friday, after being on the ice about an hour, she told me that her knee was really hurting. She says it's the knee cap itself and under it that hurts. I had her get off the ice, and we went home and iced it. It still hurt next morning so we went to the chiropractor. (She sees him fairly regulary for other skating related aches & pains.) He took a quick look and said it wasn't swollen. He asked her if it ever popped and cracked and she said no. (However, she told me later that sometimes in the past when it would hurt, it would 'pop' and then the pain would be gone.) He said he didn't think it was a muscle issue due to her answers and the lack of swelling. He said it was probably due to the repetitive landing force and recommended that we get a "CHO-PAT" knee strap for her to wear, that she do some exercises to strengthen the muscles in a different way than that landing motion. He said that if that doesn't help, we might need to get an MRI and go from there. She always warms up thoroughly before she goes on the ice, and she skates with Crash Pads on her knees and hips. ANYWAY - I tend to be on the panicky side and am worried about her knee being permanently ruined and that her skating career is over already! She has her 1st competition as a Juv. in 2 weeks and she's really been looking forward to it and working hard. Does anyone have any insight/advice???? Thanks in advance. Sorry this post is so long.

[1lutz2klutz]

Sounds like your daughter has a condition called chondromalacia- a wearing away of the cartilage that lines the under side of the knee cap. This is common in younger female athletes and is probably caused by an imbalance of the muscles in her thigh (the quadriceps) which then allows her knee cap to bang into the end of the femur (the long bone of the thigh) resulting in patello-femoral syndrome. She needs to see a physical therapist (I am one, thus my advice!) for exercises to balance the muscles of her thigh and to stretch the muscles of her hips to align the knee better. This is a common, benign condition that does not require surgery, but will only get worse if you ignore it. In the meantime, ice and anti-inflammatories will help the pain.

[TashaKat]

ITA, get it looked at/seen to. I damaged my knee (not skating but falling down the stairs after tripping over my cat, landed flat on my foot then twisted before falling) and carried on skating without getting it looked at and even did my dance test with it hurting like heck! Now it hurts if I overdo things even when I'm not skating.

Hope it heals well


Lx

[jestemkkool]

I agree, it does sound like chondromalacia(I have it to.) You should see an orthopedic who will probably give you a different brace(depending on the severity) and send you to physical therapy. After she goes through PT she should be fine but my best advice would be to continue the strenghtening exercises after PT is over- I didn't do this, and my tendons got really loose so when I did a spiral and fell, my patella slipped out of place and I had to stop skating for a while. Also, ice and rest will help a lot. Good Luck!!

[oroetlaboro]

If it is Chondromalacia, is it ok to keep skating in the meantime? I'm always afraid that if there is pain, continuing to skate might make things much worse. She's really upset about this competition which is less than 2 weeks away, and she's already signed up for another at the end of May. Obviously, we've already paid the fees, she's been working so hard for months toward this season & really wants to compete, but her long-term health is more important. We'll look for an orthopedic, but I know that whole process will take awhile. Any thoughts?

[1lutz2klutz]

Continuing to skate in the short term won't cause any more damage, just discomfort. Ice after skating and before bed at night, and use anti-inflammatories like ibuprophen for the pain. Just get in to see the doctor soon- it's certainly not a life or death matter.

[oroetlaboro]

Thanks for all the info. I decided to take her back to the chiropractor in the meantime for a better look since it does still hurt her even though she hasn't skated since Friday, has been icing it, etc. He decided we'd better do an MRI since the pain went from very mild to quite sharp suddenly while she was skating Friday. Depending on the results, he can refer her to a pediatric orthopedic surgeon in our area who is very good. So, I'm feeling better. Still don't know if she'll be able to compete next weekend, but at least we'll know what we're dealing with. Thanks again for the reassurance and advice!!

[oroetlaboro]

The MRI showed a "tear of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus superior surface" and minor swelling in the joint. No other damage is apparent. So - she'll have to see the orthopedic surgeon, and definately won't be competing next weekend - and I guess probably not next month either, depending on how long it takes to get in to see this doctor. She's extremely disappointed as she's been looking forward to this competition for months (2 new programs - 1st time at Juv), but we're glad we caught it before more damage was done.

[dbny]

:cry: Aw, sorry to hear. But it is good that you caught it and no more damage was done. Hope it heals up on its own.

[roogu]

There'll be tons more competitions down the road. Better to nip the injury in the bud now then to miss a whole season.

[aloha]

She said sometimes it will hurt a bit and then go away - on and off the ice. She says it's the knee cap itself and under it that hurts. However, she told me later that sometimes in the past when it would hurt, it would 'pop' and then the pain would be gone. He said it was probably due to the repetitive landing force and recommended that we get a "CHO-PAT" knee strap for her to wear.

I have the exact same thing and it my knee would also collapse for no reason. When I went to my doctor he gave it some scientific name that i didn't understand nor remember, but he also gave me the most common name for it as "jumpers knee". he said that it is most common in track and field athletes, gymnast and figure skaters. I bought a knee strap too and I wear it everyday. It works like a charm and I never have pain... unless I don't wear it that is. I do knee exersises, plyometrics etc. they have really strengthened. Best of luck to your daughter

Aloha

[96.23??]

I had pains in my knee in the same spot. I went to a massage theripist for a while and it kept the pain away for a month at a time but I finally figured out the problem was in my feet. I needed arch supports in my shoes. So I went to the foot clinic where I live and got inserts fitted for my shoes and my knee problems are long gone! I don't even have to wear inserts in my skates, just in the shoe that you use the most often.