Chondromalacia patella is a bone and joint disease formed by frequent violent impact and friction between the cartilage surface of the patella and the patellofemoral joint surface, the main symptoms are pain in front of the knee joint, obvious when going up and down stairs, playing soft legs, and joint popping.
Causes of chondromalacia patellae.
1, mechanical joint injury: occupations with heavy knee loads, such as drivers, teachers, white-collar workers, etc., their joints remain in a rigid position for a long time or are subject to strong impact for a long time causing bone and joint injury;
2, joint overuse: long-term repeated use of certain joints can cause an increase in the prevalence of these joints.
3, obesity: excess weight increases the burden on the joints, but also due to posture, gait changes on the biomechanics of the joints have an impact.
4, women before and after menopause, may be related to the reduction of estrogen.
Diagnosis.
1. Symptoms.
(1) There is a post-patellar friction sound when the knee joint moves, and the position is not fixed;
(2) Diffuse pain behind the patella, with weakness of the leg when walking and significant discomfort when going up and down stairs;
(3) Soreness and weakness of the knee joint in a semi-squatting position, with pressure pain in the patella.
2. Physical signs.
(1) patellar compression and grinding test During examination, the patella and its relative intercondylar joint surface of the femur squeeze and grind each other or slide up and down, there is a rough grinding sensation, grinding sound and painful discomfort; or the examiner pushes the patella to one side with one hand and presses the thumb of the other hand behind the edge of the patella can cause pain.
(2) Single-leg squat test The patient holds the weight on one leg and gradually squats to 90° to 135° with pain, tenderness, and cannot stand up on one leg after squatting.
3.X-ray examination.
The frontal and lateral x-ray of the knee joint and the tangential x-ray of the patella are not abnormal in the early stage, but in the late stage, the gap between the patella and the femoral condyle becomes narrower due to the wear of most of the cartilage, and there may be osteophytes at the edge of the patella and the femoral condyle.
Treatment.
1. Avoid weight bearing, reduce activity and weight loss.
2. Take oral anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving drugs, such as Fenbid, Bezhuqing and Fotarine.
3, intra-articular injection of sodium vitreous acid and other lubricants to reduce the friction of the joint surface, which is conducive to the recovery of the joint surface. If there is fluid accumulation, fluid extraction should be performed first.
4.Physiotherapy: ultra-laser irradiation, microwave irradiation and ultra-short wave treatment can all play a role in deep joint heating, anti-inflammatory and pain relief, which is conducive to the recovery of joint function.
5.Therbal external washing and hot compress of medicinal residue.