Many people have pain in their ten joints, and after going to the hospital for an MRI, it will say chondromalacia patellae. So what exactly is chondromalacia patellae? Patellar chondromalacia refers to an anterior knee pain condition characterized by degenerative changes such as swelling, erosion, fragmentation and degeneration of the cartilage surface of the patella due to chronic injury. The main reason for its appearance is due to the impact of our patella on the femur when it slides. There are congenital factors and acquired factors. Congenital factors: patellar dysplasia. Your femur or patella does not develop well and repeatedly impacts and pops, becoming the basis for chronic injury. Acquired factors: mainly related to labor, sports posture and intensity, etc. Due to insufficient muscle strength,the impact occurs during exercise. After softening of the patella, the ten joint will have repeated anterolateral pain, and part of it will also have the phenomenon of playing soft leg. Long-term existence is very harmful to the knee joint and can lead to osteoarthritis, which needs to be treated early. How to diagnose chondromalacia patellae? Chondromalacia patellae can occur at any age, but it is more common in athletes and middle-aged and elderly women, and is often associated with so-called “growing pains” in children. In the early stage, the pain is mainly in the front side of the knee, which is aggravated when going up and down stairs, and improves after rest. When the disease worsens, it becomes difficult to squat and painful at night, which affects sleep and normal life. In the advanced stage, the knee joint cannot be fully straightened due to severe wear and tear, and joint fluid and free bodies may appear in the joint cavity, causing intra-articular locking and sudden jamming of the joint. Therefore, it is important to diagnose and intervene in advance. Those who have similar conditions as mentioned above can go to the hospital to have an MRI to find out the problem. What should I do if I encounter chondromalacia patellae? What should you do if you are diagnosed with chondromalacia patellae? First of all, you need to go to a professional institution to understand what is the cause of the occurrence? In addition to the degree of damage to the kneecap, you need to know if the muscles around the patella and the bones of the lower limb are straight. Most of them are due to muscle imbalance, and some are due to bone development problems. Therefore, we can use rehabilitation exercises to balance the bilateral muscles, so that the patella can return to the normal track in the process of movement and reduce further damage, while using some drugs and physical therapy to relieve the local symptoms and promote local cartilage repair. In the acute stage, it is necessary to reduce exercise and use braces for protection. Generally, after 4-8 weeks, there will be a better recovery.