If you have Knee pain from Chondromalacia Patella, Acupuncture can provide relief! This post is about Chiropractor West Palm Beach: Acupuncture for Patellafemoral Arthralgia and Chondromalacia Patella.
You may have anterior (front) knee pain. However, your knee pain may be found behind, in and around your patella (knee cap) as well. It may be vague aching pain that is aggravated by going up and down stairs. Moreover, there may be associated crepitus (cracking or grating) and knee pain going through any squatting maneuver.
Anatomy
The patella (knee cap) is the largest sesamoid bone in the body. Sesamoid bones develop in some tendons where they cross the ends of long bones. The patella lies within the quadriceps muscle tendon. It functionally extends the lever arm for the quadriceps muscle. It makes extension (straightening leg) of the knee much more effective.
In addition, stabilization of the patella is provided by the quadriceps muscles, their fascial extensions, and the distal (end) attachment to the tibial tuberosity (boney bump on top of shin bone) via the patellar tendon. The distal (far from the body) end of the femur (thigh bone) and the proximal (nearest from the body) end of the tibia (shin bone) are connected by numerous ligaments and stabilized by strong muscles to form the knee joint. This joint is situated between the body’s two longest “lever arms”. Similarly, it must be able to transmit significant loads as it sustains high forces through upright posture and gait.
Three articulations (joints) are found in conjunction with the knee: the tibiofemoral, patellofemoral, and tibiofibular articulations. However, only the tibiofemoral and patellofemoral articulations participate in knee joint activity. The tibiofibular (fibula is the thin, outer long bone of the leg) articulation/joint does not actually contribute to the actions of the knee. Instead it is part of the ankle joint complex moving the ankle in all the various ranges of motion. However, dysfunctional processes in the proximal tibiofibular articulation/joint can affect other knee functions and can be a source of knee pain.
Difference Between Patellafemoral Arthralgia/arthritis and Chondromalacia Patella
Certainly, biomechanical (study of living body) abnormalities can lead to an erosion and fragmentation of the sub patellar (beneath kneecap) cartilage. This breaking up of the patella articular cartilage due leads to chondromalacia. Apparently, many patellofemoral diagnoses are simply stages of the same overall etiology (cause of disease).
First, knee pain from chondromalacia is usually due to overuse injury while Patella femoral arthralgia is usually idiopathic (cause unknown).
Second, chondromalacia occurs on the medial facet (middle part) of the patella while patella femoral arthralgia occurs on the lateral facet (toward side) of the patella.
Third, knee pain from chondromalacia occurs in mostly females less than 40 years old. Patella femoral arthralgia occurs in both female and males equally at a greater than 60 years of age.
Lastly, knee alignment in chondromalacia patella can be valgus (knock knee syndrome) or varus (bow leg syndrome). However, the knee alignment is mostly valgus (bow leg syndrome) in patella femoral arthralgia.
Causes of Knee Pain from Chondromalacia Patella
Firstly, patellofemoral syndrome is also called chondromalacia patella. Additionally, it is called “runners knee” since it is common among runners. Additionally, it is most frequently seen in teenagers, young adults, women and athletes.
Secondly, knee pain in chondromalacia is often related to maltracking or instability of the patella. So Patella tracking disorder (maltracking) describes a condition where movement of your kneecap isn’t aligned. Patella tracking problems can occur primarily from injuries to the knee and quadriceps mechanism. The quadriceps are a group of four muscles that cover the front and sides of your thighs. And it can secondarily be in response to problems affecting the ankle or hip.
- There are many causes to the maltracking of the patella leading to knee pain in chondromalacia:
- It may be secondary (happens after) to trauma and recurrent subluxation (dislocation).
- Postural problems, “Short leg syndrome”/ leg length inequality
- Underdevelopment of the femoral condyles (rounded protuberance at the end of thigh bone) or the patella
- Patella alta (high riding kneecap)
- Imbalance in musculature for example in your quadriceps (group of muscles in front of thigh). Weak medial (toward middle) knee stabilizing muscles (Vastus Medialis Obliques, one of quadriceps) and tight lateral (toward side) muscles/structures such as the vastus lateralis (side quadriceps) and illio tibial band.
- Excessive femoral torsion (inward twisting of the thigh bone) with resultant irregular “Q angle” (angle formed between the quadriceps muscles and the patella tendon).
How Does Acupuncuture Help Patellafemoral Arthralgia and Chondromalacia Patella from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Point of View?
Traditional acupuncture is based on the belief that an energy, or “life force” called “Qi”, flows through the body. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), obstruction of qi and/or blood leads to pain. TCM theory says the Acupuncture treatment stimulates the imbalanced pathways along the meridians (energy channels). The goal is to activate the natural healing abilities of your body.
Furthermore, TCM theory says “obstruction” causes soreness, swelling, and stiffness to develop in your muscles and joints. Additionally, TCM says the obstruction can effect your entire body. Therefore, TCM sees Chondromalacia Patella and patella femoral arthralgia as an “obstruction” called “bi” syndrome.
Acupuncture Research on Knee Pain
Firstly, Researchers in one Study selected adults with chronic pain or osteoarthritis of the knee. The adults received either acupuncture treatment or a control consisting of sham (placebo) acupuncture. They found Acupuncture treatment is significantly superior to sham acupuncture. (1) It was concluded, Acupuncture therapy helps knee arthritis. And Acupuncture promotes blood circulation of the knee joint and joint fluid circulation in the articular cavity. So it strengthens the nutrition of articular cartilage.
Secondly, in another study, the objective was to evaluate the effect of acupuncture in patellofemoral pain syndrome. The study concluded that acupuncture may be a beneficial alternative treatment for patellofemoral pain syndrome. (2)
Chiropractor West Palm Beach: Acupuncture for Patellafemoral Arthralgia and Chondromalacia Patella
Meiri Chiropractic offers acupuncture for Patellafemoral Arthralgia and Chondromalacia Patella and many other ailments. Dr. Natalie Meiri is a chiropractic physician, board certified in acupuncture with over 20 years of experience. Call today for your acupuncture treatment. If you have pain due to Chondromalacia Patella or other ailment, call us today at 561-253-8984!
References:
(1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17215263/ Acupuncture treatment for chronic knee pain: a systematic review A White 1 , N E Foster, M Cummings, P Barlas
(2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10630346/ Acupuncture treatment of patellofemoral pain syndrome
R Jensen 1 , O Gøthesen, K Liseth, A Baerheim
Affiliations PMID: 10630346 DOI: 10.1089/acm.1999.5.521