Heeelp! Chondromalacia (aka knee pain)

[freshwater_pr0n]

Last month, I went to an orthopedist who specializes in sports medicine. He's revered in the running community because he's a great doc who has a top notch PT staff.

I did a month of weekly PT sessions and have been fanatical about working the at-home exercises. Most of the exercises my PT gave me focus on the VMO, one of the quadricep muscles. My VMO now ripples when I look at it in the mirror.

Despite all of this, I've seen very little improvement in my condition. I still can't even ride to the grocery store without severe pain. He wants me to continue PT for another month, and then come in to discuss surgery.

Has anyone out there overcome chondromalacia without surgery? Tell me your story, cite sources, name names. I really don't want to go under the knife!

[Zen]

Chondromalacia patella is such a vague diagnosis they just had to give it a fancy name
And strengthening the VMO seems to be the go-to rx for pt's.
What does the orthopaedist want to do? Does he suspect tracking issues?Remove and scrape the patella? Eeeesh.
Scope just to see? not so eeesh
Does he need a new boat?
Have you had an MRI?
Have you done a lot (a lot) of research?

[surgtech1956]

Hello, I have patella chondromalacia - Grade 3 - that I have been dealing with since May 2006 as a result of a fall at work. I had a knee scope done in January. Had 3 rounds of PT, now on Celebrex. Chondromalacia can take some time to resolve itself. You can also seek another opinion. Yes, did you have an MRI? Surgery should be a last result. Do lots of research - there is an excellent web site - forum --- www.kneegeeks.com It was the most help for me. Good luck and keep us updated.

[freshwater_pr0n]

Well, the very next step is this week's meeting with my PT. He's going to teach me how to tape my knee.

If that doesn't help things, he's going to anesthaetize my knee and do a bunch of diagnostic tests on it.

What worries him is that even with several weeks of rest and PT, the inflammation in my knees hasn't gone down much.

This Dr. is pretty conservative and probably already has a nice boat. I'm just looking for anecdotes!

[salsabike]

Have you had a bike fit? Your saddle may be too low.

Here's one of the better summaries on the web about cycling and knee pain, including chondromalicia (I've had mild chrondro. for many years):

http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm

I keep my saddle fairly high, and also switched down to 165 mm. crank length.

[KnottedYet]

How about insoles/orthotics posted with a 2-6 degree wedge at the medial forefoot?

Patellar pain on the bike is pretty classic for a forefoot that needs some medial posting, especially for women. (I assume your PT addressed any other potential issues. VMO and taping is all peachy for walking/running/general knee health, but continuous weightbearing thru the forefoot has a very different effect on the kinetic chain and knee mechanics.)

Knot-beat-chondromalacia-thru-better-footwear.