PatelloFemoral Pain Syndrome (A.K.A. "Runner's Knee" or "Jumper's Knee" and what your need to know

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Welcome back everyone!

I'm finally discussing some current research on the diagnosis and treatment of a specific injury. In this week's blog, I'm discussing the current Clinical Practice Guidelines for diagnosing and treating Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFP). So if you have ever had knee pain related to squatting, running, descending stairs etc.. then this should be an informative read for you, providing you some direction in your ability to address your symptoms. 

PFP is commonly referred to as "Jumper's or Runner's knee." This condition involves, typically, insidious onset of pain behind or around the knee cap. This is a very common syndrome with an estimated prevalence of 25% up to 50% in the general population over their lifespan and does account for anywhere between 2-7.5% of people presenting for medical care. This syndrome most commonly affects youth athletes between the ages of 12-19 but some studies indicate a higher prevalence in the 50-59 year old age group. 

Symptoms usually present with no specific injury and can come on slowly overtime. Typically there is worsening of pain with lower-limb loading (eg, squatting, prolonged sitting, ascending/descending stairs, jumping, or running, especially with hills). There is poor correlation between internal derangement of tissue or cartilage damage and symptoms, and therefore a clinical diagnosis based on a cluster of symptoms associated with pain reports during squatting, descending stairs, and knee flexion positions like prolonged sitting should be used. Your medical provider and rehab specialist should be looking at these things as the best supported way to diagnosis this condition. ​

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