Chondromalacia - Change in cartilage tissue with loss of elasticity and softening .Today, disruption is considered one of the most common causes of knee pain in young people.
Under normal conditions, the cartilage is smooth, smooth, this enables it to provide painless friction of the surfaces.
When chondromalacia occurs, the elasticity of the cartilage decreases. Then, depending on the severity of the deviation, there is a breakdown, which causes the loss of depreciation.
Chondromalation of patella cartilage is also referred to as:
- by the knee of the runner, sincethis is a frequent diagnosis among athletes;
- with arthrosis of the femoral-patellar connection, becausethe process of the patella can pass to the cartilage of the thigh;
- patello-femoral pain syndrome - in the place where pain is concentrated.
The term knee chondropathy is also used to refer to knee joint chondromalacia.
But this definition is incorrect, becauseChondropathy is a disease that appears in the cartilaginous areas of bone growth due to a violation of the blood flow of these zones. The cartilage of the knee is damaged due to a heavy load on it or the features of fixing the ligaments and tendons of the leg.
Article Contents
- Causes and risk
- Symptoms and diagnosis of lesions
- Stage
- disease
- damage Treatment Surgery
- the knee rehabilitation and restoration
- Complications
- Preventive measures
Causes and risk
Chondromalacia patella occurs due to increase in friction of the patella on the femur bonewhen moving in the knee.
This can provoke:
- constant overload of the knee during sports that can be caused by exercises;
In the photo, the chondromalation of the patella
- deforms the legs with an increase in the angle between the axes of the femur and tibia;
- features of patellar development or hip bone, with which it comes into contact, which causes instability of the patella;
- a violation of the elasticity of the muscles of the hind and front of the thigh and Achilles tendon, stabilizing the knee;
- incorrect exercise.
Risk Factors:
- Age. Chondromalation of articular surfaces is observed mainly in adolescents and youth. In the elderly, problems with the knee are usually provoked by arthritis.
- Sex. In women, the risk of developing a lesion is two times higher than that of a stronger sex. Most likely, it is related to the structure of the hip bone.
- Individual sports. Running and jumping increases the load on your knees, which increases the chances of developing chondromalacia. Particularly at risk people, dramatically increasing the intensity of training.
- Concerns often affect athletes , the prerequisite are injuries, heavy loads, incorrect distribution of gravity. Suffer from this woman running, this is due to the structure of the knee.
Symptoms and diagnosis of lesions
Symptoms that indicate a lesion:
- periodically appearing pain in the knee, increasing after physical exertion;
- in some cases, swelling of the knee;
- crunch when walking or other movements.
The presence of pictures will help to see the dynamics of the destruction of the patella.
When examined, the doctor probes the knee in different places, moves the leg to different positions. Such an inspection helps to exclude other similar deviations.
For diagnostics apply X-ray and computed tomography. The first shows the state of bone tissue, the second - helps with information about the soft tissues of the knee.
Magnetic therapy is also used.
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Stages of the disease
According to the Outerbridge system, the patella chondromalacia of 1,2,3 and 4 degrees are distinguished:
- first - soft seals, cartilage swelling;
- second - slits and grooves up to 1 cm;
- third - cracks larger than 1 cm in diameter, reaching the bone;
- the fourth - denudation of the subchondral bone.
Treatment of damage
The main goal of the treatment is to create a direct position of the patella.
Most of the lesions are cured in a conservative way.
The action of which is aimed at reducing pain and inflammation, restoring muscle strength and joint mobility.
Main actions with conservative treatment:
- for some time exclude physical activity that causes pain;
- for knee stabilization is prescribed wearing a knee;
- physiotherapy;
- for the strengthening of the muscles of the thigh use therapeutic physical training;
- Drug Administration;
- injection into the joint of sodium hyaluronate agents.
Surgery
If conservative measures do not work, the following operation may be required:
- Arthroscopy - during the procedure the doctor inserts an arthroscope into the patient's knee through a small incision. The instruments are injected through it and the areas of the disturbed cartilage are excised.
- Reconstruction of - in more complex cases, surgery may be needed to change the patella angle or eliminate pressure on the cartilage.
Rehabilitation and rehabilitation of the knee
The goal of rehabilitation is to control the manifestations and restore the work. Rehabilitation of the knee will depend on the underlying cause of pressure on the lower part of the patella.
In general, the recovery is aimed at strengthening the muscles of the knee. If the mobility of the knee is limited to pain, a specialist can first use electrostimulation to neutralize the pain.
Once the pain is reduced, a person can continue the exercises. 
Strengthening exercises after chondromalacia patella should also be included in the recovery program.
The patient should receive a developed exercise program for performing the home.
Complications of
Disease can make daily tasks difficult;patients can hardly walk on the stairs, play sports.
Preventive measures
There are a number of techniques to protect yourself:
- Maintain muscle strength. Strong muscles help to evenly distribute the load on the knee.
- Ask the coach to help improve the technique of running, jumping.
- If you have excess weight, lose weight - this will relieve the load from the knees.
- Warm up. Before starting the training, take 5 minutes to perform simple exercises for warming up.
- Include stretching exercises in the exercises.
- Increase the intensity of training with time - sharply increased loads are harmful to the joint.
- Choose a shoe that absorbs the impact force.
Pain in the knees is one of the most common problems. During normal operation of the joint movement is painless. Manifestation of pain without special reasons indicates a pathological process.
The causes of pain may be arthritis, arthrosis, gout, etc. Treatment depends on the specific cause and can be prescribed only after the diagnosis.
