Chrondomalacia Patella

Commonly called "Runner's Knee", Chronomalacia Patella is often the cause of pain in the knee. It is common in any sport that involves a lot of running, i.e. cross-country, track, lacrosse, etc. It usually affects healthy, young athletes.

Runner's Knee is caused by an irritation on the underside of the knee. The underside of the patella is covered in a layer of cartilage. The patella can usually glide along with the movement of the knee. However, in some individuals, the patella tends to rub against one side of the knee joint or the other, causing an irritation to the cartilage, thus giving the athlete pain.

Unlike the damage done to the cartilage in arthritis, it is thought that the cartilage from runner's knee can be repaired, because unlike arthritis, it isn't a degeneration of cartilage, it is the blistering that causes the pain.

Along with athletes, women are more likely to get runner's knee than men. It isn't known why, but it's suspected that because of anatomical differences between men and women, there is more lateral force put on the woman's knee than the man's.

Treatment
Most people can get throuh runner's knee if they just rest and do some physical therapy. Letting the inflammation settle is the first part, along with avoiding any activity that would involve heavy stress on the knee, like running or other sports. Gradually the athlete can return to activity. During the time of rest, the athlete can still do cross-training like swimming to keep them active. They can do what they want, as long as it isn't putting a lot of stress on the knee.

Surgery isn't as common as a treatment for runner's knee as it used to be, but it is still used. Sometimes, common therapy is not effective in reducing the inflammation or pain associated with runner's knee, so surgery is necessary.