I was diagnosed with the same injury a few months ago but somehow I turned it around and now I can run or pedal totally pain free
A few ideas without any particular order
NO ICE
No run or ride for a month
Address other same knee issues like a tendinopathy and a quad shortening using dry needling (5 sessions)
Very progressive load
No anti inflammatory drugs
Deadlifting with a lot of technique awareness
Collagen and gelatin supplementation
Tumeric pills with high bio availability
Respect protein intake target of 2 grams per kg of body weight
Ride if pain is below 3 in a scale up to 10
A big one: I use Look system pedals. I was using old grey cleats which allowed some freedom. I noticed that my injured knee was moving with a awkward line when I was tired and that caused me pain. I changed to black zero float cleats and now my knee feels much better and I can even sprint without pain (which is a new thing)
This is my n=1 experience. It might not apply to everyone.
Funny, as I just put SPD-SLs on my newish road bike went with the red cleats which have less float than yellows I started with. After a RetĆ¼l bike fit, it was noted that my stroke/range was solid and smooth and was recommended to go with the less floating cleats. YMMV, but thereās been no downside yet and things feel a bit more secure as well.
I read some old blog post from Gordon Byrne (a very good and passionate former Ironman Pro) in which he was mentioning that some of the athletes he was coaching were developing Achilles Tendinopathy due to excessive float in the pedals.
If I find it I will link it here
Things at my end are ā¦ interesting. I had an MRI which showed very mild patella Alta, but also an enormous ganglion cyst. I knew about the cyst but it had never bothered me.
On talking with my physio and with a sports doctor, the consensus was that the cyst (located laterally near my knee), in combination with mild de-conditioning from being on holidays for 3 weeks was causing patella tracking issues and hence pain.
Moving forward, they tried to aspirate the cystābut couldnātāso now weāre on a few rounds of cortisone injections to help shrink it. That, in combination with 45mins-1hr of physio a day, and occasional strapping, has got me to regularly completing 1hr30 SST workouts and recently my first group ride.
Itās still not great, but Iām in a much better place than I was before.
This condition sounds similar to mine! I was diagnosed with patellofemoral pain syndrome a year ago, but I guess both of them are different. Even I was on the road for about 30-40 hours a week. Later I had this intense pain at the front, back, and sides of my knee without any swelling, also, bending and straightening of the knee was becoming difficult.
There started my countless medications, including ibuprofen and naproxen, and frequent extended visits to the nearby physiotherapy clinic! They would say it would be healed soon enough, say in 3-6 months, but of course, it wouldnāt! My physiotherapist had devised a customized rehabilitation program for me. In the initial phase of rehabilitation, treatment focused on reducing the pain on my knee. I remember them saying using electrotherapy modalities; they even used acupuncture and made me do muscle setting exercises. Later, when the pain lessened, they created a treatment plan which focused on modifying the factors that were known as a cause.
Of course, it took about more than eight months to recover from the pain completely, and I have to adhere to leg extensions, quadriceps stretches, and other exercises to avoid any future pain. I am using custom foot orthotics to improve my foot and knee control as my physiotherapist suggested.
You should also schedule a physiotherapy session and follow their instructions; in time, it would subdue.
Here is a list of exercises that I found on research, I think it would help: 5 Exercises to Defeat Chondromalacia Patella (and 3 to Avoid)
We have a very similar diagnosis. I have a single focal lesion behind my patella. Are you able to walk and stand without pain? I had runners knee and then a traumatic injury which cause the patella to fissure and a ramp lesion on my meniscus ( which could have healed but not sure. Can I ask you your symptoms, do you have pain walking or and limitations?
I have never really had any pain just walking around, sitting or lying down. However, after a longer, pain-inducing run, the pain would linger for a day or two. For me, it was just the running that got me. I never had any pain on the bike.
For a PRP update: While I do think PRP was effective to an extent, eventually the knee pain returned. I was up to 15-20 miles per week (nothing longer than a 10K) and feeling very optimistic. As I gradually increased, I hit the limit at 10.8 miles. The pain came back acutely just like before. I will slowly ramp back up soon hopefully, but likely just be limited to 10K or less. I think PRP did allow me to increase volume comfortably. However, it did not turn me into an ultra runner overnight. This, of course, was the result I was expecting. Best of luck with your knee!
No pain for more than 6 months but found out that if I either stick to running without any cycling or the opposite, I start to feel some discomfort which I cannot call pain but that I know it is a warning that something worse is coming.
In the meantime, I still take some turmeric and collagen around more demanding training blocks.
I got a PRP injection in my knee about 1.5 weeks ago.
What was your recovery like? How long did it take for the pain to go away? When did you start running? How many PRP injections did you get?
I also have chondromalacia patella. It has completely stopped me from running.
Post PRP treatment my knee swelled slightly. It was hard to bend my knee for ~2 days. Then all the post PRP issues went away and now I am left with just my initial knee pain. Feels exactly the same pre-PRP. I know I am suppose to give it 6 weeks, but wondering how quickly your knee started feeling better.
So I never really had any pain or swelling after the PRP injection. I waited about 6 weeks before I started running per doctorās orders. Honestly I thought it worked and was a miracle cure for a while, but then the pain came back just like before. I think it helped me to go a little longer than I was before, but that could be just because I stayed off it for so long and then built up slowly. Bottom line is that if had any positive effect, it was minimal and short lived.
I would give it at least a few weeks before you get discouraged though! Wishing you the best of luck.
Iāve had patellofemoral pain syndrome in my right knee on an off my whole life. It was worse with running. I finally realized that I have a significantly shorter right leg and I think that the pain in part comes from impacting harder on that side due to the shorter leg. It got a lot better after I put a heel rise in my right running shoe.
For biking hereās how I manage it:
-I do body weight lunges right before I get on the bike to help with patellar tracking and loosen things up
-I do a few barbell lunges right after I ride to again help loosen things up and help with patellar tracking.
-Right foot cleat shim, and altered cleat position so that knee bend is more similar on both sides
Thatās incorrect! The patella cartilage experiences greater forces than the articular cartilage on the tibia of femur. It might be the joint that experienced the most force in the entire body per square inch
I am 39 yoa. Runner approx. 40 miles pw pre pain. What I thought was IT band pain was No Cartilage left, Arthritis. MRI done. Had cortisone injections( didnāt do anything). Microfracture surgery done Oct 20. Followed by PRP injections at Xmas. Then Euflexxa injections *3.
Relief finally after 3rd Euflexxa injection.
Bought bike, and back out on roads.
Canāt do squats, lunges, jump, stairs is difficult but hoping bike will build muscle up again.
Cartilage damage is one of the worst injuries you can get. They donāt heal. I havenāt run in about 8 years. Or hiked, climbed, skied. All the things I used to like to do. So I just ride bikes now. With any luck, youāll be able to continue to ride pain free. Low impact = good!
Have you looked into a partial replacement? Guy i know had one done and is like a new person. He doesnāt run, but he does just about everything else and is pain free. His was a patella femoral replacement.