Case Summary  |  Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

I was diagnosed with patellofemoral Pain syndrome about 8 years ago, toward the end of my eigth grade year. I am a skier, and was planning to race on my high school ski team the next year, but my knees usually hurt after skiing for even just an hour, and I often had random knee aches and pains, and often swelling for reasons unknown to me. I went to see an orthopedic doctor about the condition, and was diagnosed with patellofemoral syndrome.
The doctor told me that because I have womanly hips, my femur comes down at an inward angle, and my tibia and fibia come out at an opposing angle. This causes my knee caps to be pulled in different directions, and causes them to slide incorrectly. She said that I probably have a lot of rough scar tissue on the underside of my knee caps, and told me that this uneven knee cap sliding is what caused me pain. She told me that I should wear open platella knee braces when I run, ski, or do other activities that might agitate my knees.
On the day that I was diagnosed, my doctor gave me a prescription for an insane amount of ibuprofen to help manage the swelling (200mg tablets that I took 2-4 at a time, multiple times a day) and told me that if I wanted to be able to ski the next season, I should start a physical therapy program to strengthen the muscles around my knee, and help fix the problem. She also told me to ice my knees more often, and suggested I avoid activities that caused them pain.
So, I started going to physical therapy three times a week. This was a huge commitment for a high school freshman, and took a while to get into. When I went to my appointments, I would first meet with the physical therapist, who would check out my knees, and have me do some strength exercises, that he would help me with, things involving ankle weights and him putting resistance on my legs. Then I would ride the stationary bike for about 15-20 minutes. After that, I used various weight machines, with the help of a physical therapist assistant, to build up the extra strength I would need to keep my knee caps in line. After all of that, I would see the physical therapist again, and he would give me a lovely knee massage, and he would either ice my knees for about 20 minutes, or use this really cool device that provided both cold and compression for about the same amount of time.
I followed this program, meeting with the physical therapist, for several months, and then continued for several months after that on my own. I got a membership to the gym where I had my therapy, and started using the other machines to get a more well rounded work out. This program was very good for both my knees, and my overall health. I did gain the extra strength in my muscles and was able to ski two to three days a week without too much pain. It also started me on an exercise plan which helped me lose some extra weight, and forced me to work the time for exercise into my schedule.
Physical therapy takes a lot of time and effort, and the results are often slow, but if you commit to it, and are dedicated, it can help you get over patellofemoral syndrome. If you stop the treatment, however, the pain can return, so it is an ongoing ordeal to stay in shape and keep things running smoothly...