A few days ago, I met a young man, Liu, who came to see a doctor in distress: “Doctor, I’m only in my thirties, but why do my knees hurt all the time?” It turned out that this young man Liu was troubled by knee pain. As soon as he came in, he muttered, “I’ve seen this in time, and I’ve been taking medicine for so long, but why isn’t it getting better? Xiao Liu had knee pain for a month, initially the knee was still swollen, according to the “knee synovitis” treatment for two weeks, the swelling is gone, but still pain. He was very anxious to get rid of it since he was so young and had such a problem. After a detailed inquiry, I learned that Xiao Liu works as a front desk clerk in a hotel, and due to the nature of her job, she has to stand for long periods of time every day and often carries luggage for hotel guests, so she has knee pain, and the pain is more pronounced when she goes up and down steps, squats and stands up, and is relieved after a night’s rest. So week after week, it not only affects Xiao Liu’s normal work, but also brings a lot of distress to Xiao Liu. What is the matter with Xiao Liu? We did the appropriate examination, gave Xiao Liu a reply: chondromalacia patella. The patella, commonly known as the kneecap. Patellar chondromalacia is a degenerative disease of the knee joint caused by chronic pain due to limited softening, fibrosis, breakage, fragmentation, detachment or even exposure of the cartilage bed bone due to strain and trauma of the patellar cartilage, which starts slowly and is mostly seen in young and middle-aged people, both male and female. This disease often manifests as “front knee pain”, “patellofemoral pain” and “post-patellar pain”, and the pain is obvious when going downstairs, ascending, squatting, kneeling and standing after sitting for a long time, affecting life and work. It affects life and work. The pain can be relieved or disappeared after rest, but is often aggravated after strenuous exercise. In severe cases, the knee joint may be limited in extension and flexion and cannot stand on one leg, and some people may have symptoms of “pseudoglutination” and “limpness” of the knee joint, or patellar friction sounds and claudication. The cause of chondromalacia patella can be determined by X-ray examination, such as high patella or low patella, femoral condylar dysplasia, etc. MRI of the knee joint can also be used to determine the exact location and extent of the lesion and to select a more appropriate treatment plan accordingly. What is the treatment for this disease? Treatment is based on clinical symptoms and vegetative differences. Pain in the knee, fear of cold, aggravated by cold, and petechiae on the tongue are mainly of the cold and stagnation type, so the treatment is to warm the meridians and disperse cold, dispel stasis and relieve pain; swelling in the knee, positive floating patella test, heavy limbs, drowsiness and weakness are mainly of the damp-phlegm blockage type, so the treatment is to dry dampness and resolve phlegm, and to open the channels and relieve pain; soreness and weakness in the knee joint, and weakness in the legs are mainly of the liver and kidney deficiency type, so the treatment is to tonify the liver and kidney and strengthen the muscles and bones. Accordingly, choose the corresponding prescription or medicine, or you can also use ointment external paste or topical application. In addition, there are local acupuncture, moxibustion, tui-na, acupuncture points, etc., supplemented by low-frequency electrotherapy, Chinese medicine ionization and other physical therapy. If the pain is obvious, well-defined and limited, you can choose closure therapy, small needle knife release method and other measures to treat. Intra-articular injection of sodium vitreous acid to lubricate and nourish the patellar cartilage is also one of the options. If the symptoms are not relieved after a period of systematic conservative treatment, other lesions may be combined at the same time, and further examination and, if necessary, arthroscopic exploration and treatment are required. How should I perform functional exercises? Regardless of the treatment option chosen, rest and avoiding movements that aggravate pain are the most basic treatment and must be combined with functional exercises. The specific method is: the patient lies flat on his back with both lower extremities straight. With the knee joint straightened, lift the affected lower extremity off the bed to a height of 20-30cm with the heel above the bed, maintain it for 1 minute, then lower the leg, rest for 1 minute and repeat the movement, 10 times for 1 group, 2-3 groups per day. You still need to do 1~2 sets of exercises after the symptoms are relieved. This exercise is to strengthen the thigh muscles, maintain joint stability and reduce further injury caused by this, which is the reason of “using in and out”. Patellar chondromalacia is mostly seen in young and middle-aged people, and this age group, the joint cartilage still has a certain repair capacity, so early detection and treatment is of great significance for future rehabilitation. Otherwise, the early onset of patellofemoral arthritis or even osteoarthritis of the knee due to mismanagement is not something anyone wants to see. In addition to knee synovitis and patellar chondromalacia, there may be other causes of knee pain in young people, such as subpatellar fat pad inflammation, meniscal injury, discoid meniscus, cruciate ligament injury, fracture, joint infection and other diseases. Therefore, once young people have knee pain, they need to seek early medical attention and go to a hospital orthopedic specialist for diagnosis and treatment as soon as possible.