Patella tracking problem

[mr brightside]

The latest diagnosis on my knee injury is that i have kneecap tracking problems. It is tracking inwards and refering pain to all the right areas so as to make the 4 physios i had seen previously think i had ITB syndrome- this was probably a misdiagnosis. Does anyone have any history of recovering from this? I'm a bit concerned i might be living with this for the rest of my life, but i have a recovery program that is going in hard and hitting it from all possible angles.

Has anyone on here ever had a Lateral Patella Release operation?

[Fnstein]

Check this information http://www.mikereinold.com/2010/12/w...ing-works.html and get a physio to show you how to do it. I've used it on and off over the last year - it hasn't totally removed the pain but it helps moderate it. Also do some leg exercises to strengthen the muscles on the inside of your quads. This helps pull the knee cap back into a more central position.

Good luck

[PeteS]

Had (and still have on occasion ) the same problem. Exercises to strengthen the inner thigh muscle - vastus medialis - is the key to resolving it long term. You can eleviate the symptons either bytaping as sugested by Fnstein or a patella band which fits over the tendon below the knee works for me.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...00_i00_details

[murph]

I too had a similar problem this time last year and was diagnosed with ITB issues by what was a very expensive and supposedly very good physio here on the Isle of Man, after spending a fortune and getting no where I decided to go and see Rick Holden the ex Oldham footballer who has a practice here, he diagnosed my problem on sight alone immediatlety as a misaligned knee cap which was tracking poorly during flexion and extension. He gave me a set of strength and conditioning excersises to do which would strengthen my quads in such a way to compensate and hold my kneecap secure, fingers crossed I havnt had any issues since, everynow and then I go for a sports massage which concentrates on the outside of my quads to keep them knot free and as long as I keep to my routine im fine.

[nippersmith]

The latest diagnosis on my knee injury is that i have kneecap tracking problems. It is tracking inwards and refering pain to all the right areas so as to make the 4 physios i had seen previously think i had ITB syndrome- this was probably a misdiagnosis. Does anyone have any history of recovering from this? I'm a bit concerned i might be living with this for the rest of my life, but i have a recovery program that is going in hard and hitting it from all possible angles.

Has anyone on here ever had a Lateral Patella Release operation?

HI Mr B, do you have a foam roller? I swear by mine. My physio (Sarah at Leeds Met, she is brilliant) introduced me to the foam roller about 18 months ago, and my only regret is that I don't make the time to do the foam rolling more often. I feel much better and have a lot less knee pain if I pay attention to my tight ITBs. You can roll most of your muscles and finish off with a thoracic roll. There are plenty of youtube videos to watch and learn from. I think it might be worth a try. There is a good article by Denise Parkes about myofascial release in one of last year's The Fellrunner mags, let me know if you would like a copy sending. Sarah

[zephr]

Yep, sounds about right on with the vastus medialis, though if the knee is tracking inward, it might be that the VM is too strong, and the Vastus Lateralis isn't strong enough... so it could be that the VM needs to be released. Not something that you need surgery for, the foam rollering can sort that out, but a good massage therapist, physio or osteo should be able to help sort that out.

Its also worth thinking about other structures which may have helped cause the imbalance in the knee. Knees seldom become misaligned without something else being suboptimal in the first place (unless it has been specifically involved in a trauma).
It could be that either your hips and associated muscles (most likely glute max, glute med and glute min) aren't working as they should be, and are causing imbalances in the leg,
equally, it could be that your feet aren't quite doing what they should be, and are contributing to the muscles around the knee not quite working optimally.

These are just suggestions about what COULD be wrong, not what I THINK is wrong.
Foam rollering is an excellent way forward, as is myofascial release (as mentioned above), but not just focussing on the area around the knee- that is the place where the injury has manifested itself, but probably isn't necessarily the root cause of the issue. You can do all you want to the area that hurts, but the origin of the issue needs to be addressed, else it will just come back again.

I hope that makes some sense to you?

[mr brightside]

Cheers guys.