Have you ever had a pain at the back of your kneecap, especially after squatting, running or going up the stairs? Do you love playing sports and your knees started aching from nowhere? If the anwer to these questions is yes, then it could be you are suffering from patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). But no need to worry, as physiotherapy solution can help you overcome it to carry out your daily activities smoothly again.
What is the meaning of PFPS?
PFPS is caused by abnormal rubbing of kneecap against femur (thighbone), results in pain, rigidity and makes bending and straightening of the knee difficult.
Diagnosis of PFPS:
Diagnosing PFPS usually comprises two phases: a medical history and a hands-on examination. Here is the breakdown of it:
1) Medical History: During the medical history taking, your physician will likely inquire about such things as:
- Locality of pain?
- When was the first time you felt such pain?
- Does this pain increase when you squat, climb stairs or run?
- How many minutes or hours do the episodes last usually?
- Do you remember ever having any injuries or surgeries on either of your knees?
2) Physical Examination: The doctor may suggest that:
- Palpation: This involves feeling your kneecap to check for pain and inflammation.
- Range of motion tests: The doctor checks how well you can move your knee.
- Strength tests: The strength of your quadriceps, hamstrings, and hip muscles is tested.
- Alignment assessment: They are looking at your legs’ alignment to see if there is something wrong with it that may cause PFPS.
- Functional tests: They need to watch you squatting down or walking so as to know about faulty movement patterns if any.
How can physiotherapy help in PFPS?
Physiotherapists are skilled in movement, they are capable of treating root-causes of PFPS. This is how they can assist:
- If certain muscles surrounding the knee joint are weak, particularly across the quadriceps and hips, that may lead to PFPS. Moreover, in such cases physiotherapists are likely to create a personalized exercise regimen meant at emphasizing these muscles thereby alleviating pressure on the patella.
- In case the hamstrings are tensed as well as the calves, this makes the kneecap dislocate. To improve elasticity and stop the patella from dislodging, physiotherapists may guide you through some stretches.
- The stiffness of stressed muscles and limited limbs movement can be lessened, hence treating pain and inflammation.
Benefits of Physiotherapy for PFPS:
- Pain reduction: PFPS pain can be significantly reduced by physiotherapy, making you take part in your normal activities without having pain or any discomfort.
- Improved functionality: physiotherapy enhances your general knee health as well as stability by dealing with muscle imbalance as well as problems with movement patterns.
- Decreased chances of future occurrences: physiotherapy helps you learn different exercises which may assist you maintain correct knee alignment thus preventing PFP later on.
Physiotherapy is a journey that you go through with your physiotherapist to come up with a plan for dealing with your problems and goals. If you follow their lead and do your exercises regularly, you can see an immense improvement in the symptoms of patellofemoral pain syndrome thereby being able to return to an active way of life. If you are looking for such guidance, book an appointment with one of our experts at sports and spinal solutions clinic.
