Patellofemoral pain: is poorly defined in current literature. It is pain associated with the patellofemoral joint (the knee cap and knee joint) and its associated structures such as the surrounding muscles and joints.
It is the most common knee complaint of people under the age of 50 with females being more affected than males. PFP is not self limiting (will not go away of its own accord) and may also precede osteoarthritis in the knee joint.
Causative factors for Patello Femoral Pain:
- Surrounding muscular dysfunction
- Tight surrounding structures such as muscles, ligaments, fascia
- Weak muscles or Over active muscles
- Biomechanical issues: muscle firing/patterns, muscle wasting
- Bony/structural issues/abnormalities
- Faulty exercise equipment and/or incorrect training techniques
What to do if you are experiencing pain around the knee joint/knee cap:
- Stop the activity causing you pain
- Seek advice from your Myotherapist.
Jane Rooney Specialist Sports Physiotherapist
What can your Myotherapist do for your knee pain?
- Determine the cause of the knee pain, try and prevent the same issues causing pain in the future
- Look at any biomechanical issues in the hip, knee and foot areas
- Treat associated muscles and soft tissue structure
- Demonstrate taping methods for surrounding structures
- Demonstrate good training techniques
- Corrective exercise for muscle patterning and strengthening
- Referral to any other practitioners needed for a good recovery/rehabilitation such as Jane Rooney – Sports Physio
Catharine Bainbridge, one of our own Elite Myotherapists employs these techniques to assist her own knee pain with great success and would be more then happy to have a chat to see how we can assist your own knee pain or other associated problems.
