The good news is that with the right chiropractic care, you can see major improvements and get free from the pain.
Although anyone may be affected, it is often the result of overuse of the knee in sports that require jumping or running so it is sometimes referred to as "Runner's knee".
The reason why you need to know this is because PFPS is the most common cause of knee pain in the general population. It affects an estimated 25% of adults.
One of the most common causes of PFPS is an imbalance between the muscles that help to guide your kneecap in its V-shaped groove at the end of your thigh bone. These muscles are controlled by nerves that travel from your spine and deep into the leg. So problems with the spine can often lead to decreased coordination in the leg.
Over time, repeatedly flexing and extending a misaligned kneecap leads to pain, swelling and eventually arthritis.
Misalignment of the kneecap (patella) is often secondary to problems in the spine, hip and foot, especially weakness of your gluteal muscles or flat feet.
- Prolonged walking
- Running
- Squatting
- Jumping
- Stair climbing
- Arising from a seated position.
The pain can be aggrevated by walking downhill or down stairs. Longstanding misalignment can cause damage to the cartilage, which results in popping, grinding or giving way.
In many cases you can continue your activity during care. Initially, however, it is important to be evaluated by a professional to see if your knee problem is stable. Since there are many types of patellofemoral syndrome, our goal is to find the exact location of your problem, identify the anatomy and the specific cause and give you the best possible treatment.
Problems with the knee often origninate in the pelvis, which can be realigned with chiropractic care. Problems with the spine can change the behaviour of the muscles going to the leg, decreasing the coordination of the knee. Chiropractic care improves the function of the nerves going from the lumbar spine to the quadriceps and other muscles of the leg.
A chiropractor trained in Active Release Techniques can apply specific treatments to sometimes instantly decrease pain and restore normal texture and movement to muscles of the leg.
Class 4 Laser therapy can also help by decreasing pain and speeding up the healing process by 200%.