Anterior knee pain

Definition:

Knee pain caused by misalignment of the patello-femoral joint (where the kneecap articulates with the end of the thigh bone).

Alternative Names:

Knee pain - runner's condition; Patellofemoral stress syndrome

Considerations:

A physical examination of the knee will confirm the presence of a painful joint.

Tests that may be performed to rule out possible structural damage to the knee or connective tissue:

a joint X-ray
a joint CT scan
an MRI scan of the knee

Causes:

The most common cause of runner's knee is pronation and lateral (away from the middle) pulling of the patella. This causes misalignment with the connective tissues and muscles involved with knee movement.

Symptoms:

knee pain below the knee cap and on the sides of the knee cap
at first, pain occurs when running downhill, then pain progresses to all running, then pain is present even when not running

First Aid:

The treatment involves resting the knee and not resuming running until it can be done without pain.

Stretching exercises for the hamstrings and quadriceps muscles, and strengthening exercises for the muscle that pulls the knee cap towards the center of the body may be prescribed by a sports-medicine specialist or physical therapist. Bicycling may be substituted for other exercise if it can be done without pain.

Special shoe inserts and orthotics (support devices) may help prevent further injury after healing.

Do Not:

recurrent injury

Call immediately for emergency medical assistance if:

Call your health care provider if knee pain persists in spite of resting the joint.

Prevention:

Proper warming up before exercise, stretching after warm-up or exercise, and cooling down after exercise can help prevent sports injuries.

Review Date: 5/30/2001
Reviewed By: Benjamin D. Roye, M.D., M.P.H., Department of Orthopaedics, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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