Anterior Knee Pain » About
About
Symptoms
Onset is variable
- With or without trauma
- Abrupt or insidious
Pain also variable
- Retropatellar ache may also lateralize to the joint lines
- Worse with activity, comes on at the onset of running, biking, may disappear as one “warms up”, but returns after the activity, then to slowly disappear over hours to days
- When severe, the pain eliminates the ability to do stressful activities (running, biking), and remains as a constant background ache
- When less severe, you can do your activity, but you pay the price afterwards with prolonged pain
What makes it better
- Rest
- Analgesics/anti-inflammatories
- Physiotherapy
- Taping
What makes it worse
- Stairs – walking up or down
- Prolonged sitting
- Getting up from sitting produces a characteristic catch, that disappears after a few steps (the theatre sign)
- Kneeling
- Squatting
Associated symptoms
- Crunching, snapping, popping
- Often present with changes of position, or direction
- Giving way with a catch
- Often misinterpreted as patellar subluxation
- Giving out while running
