Tratamiento de Condromalacia Rotuliana o Artrosis de Rótula - FisioClinics Palma

Chondromalacia Patella or Arthrosis of the Patella is one of the most frequent traumatic processes in both sportsmen and non-athletes, due to multiple causes, learn about them through the following article and take a look at the treatment offered by FisioClinics Palma de Mallorca.

What is Chondromalacia Patella?

Chondromalacia Patella is a lesion of degenerative origin that affects the cartilage of the articular surface of the patella, having different levels of involvement, generating overpressure in the knee joint in both adolescents and adults. The main changes include swelling, fragmentation and detachment of the cartilage, and then the same injury occurs in the corresponding part of the femoral condyle, ultimately resulting in Osteoarthritis of the Patella.

When the cartilage tissue is destroyed, the knee joint gradually loses mobility, and if the disease is not treated, it stops working completely. It occurs mainly in young and middle-aged people, especially among athletes and sports enthusiasts. The incidence of women is higher than that of men.

What are the symptoms of Patellar Chondromalacia?

The main symptoms that exist in Chondromalacia Patella are described below:

• There is pain in the front of the knee, related to physical activity and worse when walking up or down stairs or running on hard and uneven surfaces.       

• There is a feeling of stiffness and difficulty in extending the knee, after spending long periods with the knee bent.       

• Presence of clicking and rubbing of the patella on the femur.       

• Occasional loss of stability.       

• Quadriceps muscle weakness.       

• Shortening of the posterior thigh muscles.       

What Causes Osteoarthritis of the Patella?

Although micro-trauma is an important cause of Osteoarthritis of the Patella, the underlying cause is the poor structure of the tibia and its surroundings. Trauma is only a predisposing factor, which is also a major cause of recurrence after treatment. There are different causes that affect the proper functioning of the knee, generating Patellar Osteoarthritis or Chondromalacia Patella, such as:

• Mechanical due to joint misalignments.       

• Post Traumatic such as patella fractures, chondral contusion among others.       

• Inflammatory problems.       

• Degenerative causes.       

• After prolonged immobilization processes.       

• Over training.       

• Overweight.       

• Inappropriate footwear.       

• Muscle weakness.       

• Muscle shortening.       

• Knees with valgus deformity.       

• Patella abnormalities.       

How is the medical diagnosis of Chondromalacia Patella made?

To achieve an accurate diagnosis about Chondromalacia Patellae, they can be achieved through various tests to observe the integrity of the patellar cartilage, through a physical examination, perform specific tests on the affected joint, the specific tests will help us direct our study to future and what imaging tests we will need.

X-rays and MRIs are also known to work efficiently to identify the level of cartilage wear behind the patella.