Patellofemoral Arthritis

Are you suffering from a condition called, Patellofemoral Arthritis? It is perhaps one of the common arthritis that affects the knee joint. Patellofemoral arthritis is damage of the patellofemoral joint (knee cap and knee joint). There are usually affect people who are overweight, elderly, have previous knee conditions such as interarticular fractures, chronic inflammation of the joints, unstable knee joints, overuse and other risk factors.

Causes

There are multiple causes of this condition. It could be due either to degeneration or trauma. For instance, a patient who has poor or abnormal patella tracking (knee cap is not moving normally) can cause compressive and sheer forces to the patellofemoral joint. Repetitive and forceful actions of this would eventually erode the cartilage between the knee & knee cap joint and cause inflammation.

In addition, you can also damage the knee by falling down on the knees and therefore causing inflammation of the joint.

Symptoms

Most people will experience moderate to severe levels of pain around their kneecap. In other people, they will experience negligible or no pain. As a result, most people will have difficulty walking upstairs/downstairs, walking for long distance and squatting. Upon physical examination, your knee would be swollen, limited knee range of motion, lack of strength and pain with pressure to the patellofemoral joint.

Treatment

You should start with conservative treatment like physical therapy, hydrotherapy, see a chiropractor, home exercises, gym work, ultrasound and other such treatments. It is important that you should focus on performing exercises because it would help strengthen and stretch your muscles while preventing any stiffness in the joint. If you are not absolutely not sure which exercises to perform, then you should see your health practitioner for advice.

Medications such as NSAIDs (Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) are useful in controlling pain and swelling. A heat or cold pack can be applied onto the knee for instant pain relief. However, you should take off the pack every 20 minutes and wait another five minutes to apply on again because the blood flow will adapt to the temperature.

Ultrasound is another effective treatment because it helps to break scar tissue within the knee joint which will reduce knee stiffness and increase blood circulation.

If the pain becomes so severe, then it is best to see a specialist about your knee. Surgery is perhaps the last resort and if you do go with this option, a lengthy rehabilitation program is a must.