Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

solefit

5 years ago

Experiencing knee pain underneath the kneecap with running or walking? Is it exacerbated by going up and down hills and stairs? If so, you may be one of many experiencing Patellofemoral pain syndrome . PFPS is a common knee issue that we see coming through our doors at SoleFit. This is a result of improper kneecap tracking, and can be caused by a variety of factors. To treat this issue, there are several things your pedorthist may suggest including short term and long term options. Short term treatments:

Check your current walking/running footwear. Look for abnormal wear patterns that could be affecting your feet, ankles and knees. Also take a look at your gait in the shoes to determine if the support is adequate for your specific biomechanical needs. Recommend training tweaks , such as immediately reducing the duration of your runs, but increasing the frequency. These strategies can help reduce stress on the knees by not eliciting a pain response, and thus improving recovery time. Over time this will make it much easier to effectively increase training volume. Possible knee bracing and/or taping options for the knee in the short term. This can include patella tracking braces/sleeves to guide and stabilize the knee cap while recovering. Taping around the patella to improve tracking can be another helpful and cost effective option. Custom orthotics or off the shelf arch supports can also potentially help reduce the discomfort involved with PFPS in the short term. Evaluation of the impacts of daily habit, poor posture, and work ergonomics. Examples of this might be excessive periods of time sitting, hunched body positions, and limited low impact movement during the day. Suggestions to improve comfortable range of motion in the hips, knees and ankles. This can be done via daily static stretching, small amounts of yoga, or using a mobility tool like a foam roller, massage stick, or products like Yoga Tune Up balls. Finally, your pedorthist can also suggest effective warm up and cool down exercises to improve recovery. For most people with patellofemoral syndrome this would focus on quadriceps/ hip flexors, hamstring and glutes. Also, a dynamic warm up routine is recommended for all avid walkers and runners. SoleFit’s video can be found here.