minor chondomalacia

[FastPitchCat]

DD's teammate had some knee pain and was diagnosed with minor chondomalacia.
is this permanent or reversible ailment?

 

[Cannonball]

Chondromalacia is a cartilage injury that can be anywhere from minor where rest can "fix it" to more severe requiring surgery. I have it and it isn't fun. The front part of your knee hurts and stairs are almost impossible for me at times. At first, mine was described as cartilage damage with "pitting" of the cartilage. I guess mine just progressed more.

 

[FastPitchCat]

i thought this was something older folks get, not young teens. could this be from overuse or bad pitching mechanics?

 

[obbay]

I was diagnosed with it (don't know if they were correct or not) when I was in my 20's. I had been practicing some martial art forms that involved a lot of strain on the knees so that where the muscles weren't strong enough it resulted in knee pain that did eventually go away. another thing that aggravated them was sitting too long without standing/stretching the legs. almost 40 years later sometimes that will still bother me but not nearly as bad as it did in my"Samurai" days.

 

[Orthodoc]

So, Chondromalacia is a weakening and in some cases loss of cartilage (the cushion) in certain areas. In young girls as their hips widen, it changes the angle of force across the knee (the angle of the quad tendon to the anatomical axis of the knee). This is called the Q angle. As the Q angle increases, the pressure across the outside part of the knee cap increases and causes pressure and pain. This is called patella femoral syndrome. If left unchecked, it can cause chondromalacia. The primary treatment is rest, NSAID's, +/- knee brace, and physical therapy to focus on strengthening a specific quad muscle called the VMO. This helps unload the lateral facet of the patella and can fix the problem. Surgically a knee scope with a lateral release is typically the first step if non surgical treatment fails.

Note: I am a board certified orthopedic surgeon but I sub specialize in upper extremity surgery and haven't scoped a knee in 5 years, so they may be newer stuff out there that I haven't kept up with.

 

[Playaction]

I have it and they prescribed inserts, stretching, and strengthening the quad. I played basketball all of my life into my late 30's early 40's. I could tell a difference in the day to day but I gave up on basketball completely 4-5 years ago. I didn't feel the surgery was worth it for me.