Anyone here have/know anything about chondromalacia?

[CanAmSk8ter]

I've had mild to moderate pain in my knee off and on since October. It's gone away and come back twice now. I'm pretty sure, based on the stuff I've read, that it's either patellar tendintis or chondromalcia. I'm planning to make a doctor's appointment for next week or the week after, as soon as I get this one major school assignment turned in. I'm a little concerned about chondromalacia because I do have a strong familiy history of arthritis. My coach is in medicine, and when I told him that he said to definitely get it checked out. I'm about 25 years younger than your average new arthritis paitient, but I suppose anything's possible. Anyone else here have it?

[dbny]

I'm pretty sure that's what's been bothering me. My doctor thinks it's a good bet, but I haven't been to the orthopod yet. My pain is extremely flakey, coming and going without seeming cause. It usually doesn't bother me when I skate. I'm hoping to avoid doing anything about it. I did try glucosamine with chondroitin and it seemed to help, but I got an intolerable side effect and had to stop. Good luck to you.

[pinkjellybean]

I'm 19 but I skating has taken a great toll on my knee so I'm the owner of a knee with advanced osteoarthritis... glucosamine also bothers me however I can take something called 'lacota mobility' and I find it helps a bit...I have really bad arthritis but if yours isn't as bad then you should notice a bigger improvement with the lacota.

[Suzanne]

Yes, I had chrondomalacia as a teen. It typically hits teenage girls.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but... I had to give up cycling, soccer, and cross-country skiing. They were too painful -- I had a hard time even walking the next day!

I still occasionally get pain in my knees (I'm 40 now) but I've adjusted my sports so they're not as bad for the knees. (I play hockey and tennis and, when I'm feeling brave, I play lacrosse.) I still have to be careful if I go cycling -- it seems to be the worst activity for this condition.

As far as I know, it's not related to arthritis. (I've never heard them connected before.)

Good luck!!

[Elsy2]

Yes, I developed chondromalacia at age 30....but in my case it was caused by a genetic abnormality where I had an extra knee band called "synovial plica". This extra kneeband got stuck under my kneecap causing the kneecap to track abnormally. The doc never suspected this, and only discovered it during arthoscopic surgery.

The term "chondramlacia" describes symptoms that can be caused by a number of conditions including kneecap instability, trauma like a direct blow to the kneecap, synovial plica, or idopathic reasons (meaning they don't really know the cause...). You are right that in older persons a wearing down of the back of the kneecap can be considered osteoarthritis. Sometimes the fix is a shaving or smoothing of the back of the kneecap.

The first thing the doc did with me was several weeks of anti-inflammatory meds and rest. When there was no improvement, we went for arthoscopic surgery.

The good news is that I have a perfectly normal knee and have never been limited in what I can do. After this surgery I played raquetball for several years, ran, and of course am now skating.

There are so many different knee problems....I'm glad you are going to a doc for a professional opinion on yours! Good luck!

[wannask8]

I’ll echo what Elsy says here. It’s important to get an idea of what’s causing the condition. Definitely ask the doc a lot of questions, and go right to someone else if you’re not satisfied with the answers. When I was about 31 I was told that the knee pain I’d developed was “just chondromalacia,” and though I asked about physical therapy, was told there’s “nothing you can do about it.” By the time I finally (six months later) went for a second opinion (I was diagnosed with patellofemoral stress syndrome – kneecap jumps off its track and grinds away at the cartilage) I had noticeable muscle atrophy. The second doc got me to P.T. immediately, but by then I had a chronic problem that likely would not have developed had I started before the muscle was so compromised.

Good luck, and let us know the upshot.

-- wannask8

[skaternum]

I dealt with chondromalacia for a couple of years (rest & anti-inflammatories and the occasional draining of fluid) until my ortho said it was time for surgery. The smoothed the back of the kneecap, trimmed back the band, and after some physical therapy, I was good as new!

Definitely see a good orthopedic doctor and ask a lot of questions. It could be caused by anything, not necessarily arthritis. Don't let it get any worse before you see someone! Good luck.

[Mrs Redboots]

For those who can't take glucosamine (and it really is the best thing if you can tolerate it), don't forget good old cod-liver-oil! I take both, but I notice how stiff I am now if I forget the cod-liver-oil (you can take it in capsules, and if you have it with a cold drink to wash it down, it doesn't repeat). Also those copper and magnetic bracelets help, too.

[Elsy2]

I'm curious as to the side effects some of you had from glucosamine? I purchased some, but haven't started taking it yet. Now I'm sort of hesitant about taking it....

[dbny]

Originally posted by Elsy2
I'm curious as to the side effects some of you had from glucosamine? I purchased some, but haven't started taking it yet. Now I'm sort of hesitant about taking it....

OK, it was unbelievable constipation. It was so bad, and painful, that I was scared I had a blockage. From what I read, it was the chondroitin, not the glucosamine that caused it. It took a full week to return to normal. My doctor said I could take various OTC remedies and try again, but since I'm not having a knee problem at the moment, I've decided to wait. Just do an advanced google search on the words "chondroitin" and "constipation" together to get more info.

[Elsy2]

Thanks for that info!

[mikawendy]

Originally posted by CanAmSk8ter
I've had mild to moderate pain in my knee off and on since October. It's gone away and come back twice now. I'm pretty sure, based on the stuff I've read, that it's either patellar tendintis or chondromalcia.


Hi there, CanAmSk8ter, I'm being treated for patellar tendinitis and chondromalacia (the latter of which is also called patellofemoral syndrome) right now. I've had the pain since about October, too, and it has only gone away for a week. Sometimes it's mild, sometimes it's very strong and I have to stop skating and it hurts when I go up stairs, sit at a desk, etc.

My primary care doctor sent me to a physical therapist, because she was fairly sure this was my problem, and not something more serious that would require surgery.

I'd recommend that you see a doctor or physiotherapist of some sort and start a treatment regimen before it gets worse. My PT says that this type of pain is common in skaters, dancers, runners. It's also called jumper's knee.

He had me take a break in skating and running for 2 weeks. I'm doing Pilates and some leg weight exercises and icing in the mean time. Then he says I can go back to plain stroking, no turns, no spins, no jumps, and can skate as long as I have no pain. The second I feel pain, he tells me I should stop, so it doesn't flare up again.

Knee problems can be tricky to diagnose (and to self-diagnose), so I encourage you to see a doctor so that you can nip this in the bud and get rid of your pain long-term. Good luck! :D