Chondromalacia Patella

Well, after months of waiting I finally got some answers on my knee.

I went to see the consultant on Friday and when he said "if you have any aspirations of achieving anything through running, then you'd have to seriously consider these" and "it's possible that you're not built to run" (I'm 65kg?) it didn't exactly fill me with confidence.

I've got chondromacilia patella and after showing me the images from the scan, it was clear to see that there was severe damage to the back (bottom) of the kneecap. The route cause of the issues stem from very tight hamstrings and this has cause my pelvis to rotate which in turn has cause no end of issues with, well...everything else from the hip down.

The damage itself is at the top of the kneecap, the mid/bottom sections are fine.

In terms of pain, I haven't run for months (since Feb). Performing squats aren't painful, but not comfortable. Walking down steps in the AM are a little bit stiff (occasionally complained of feeling like an old man when walking downstairs in the mornings before my knee gave up). Cycling is no issue whatsoever. Walking is fine.

I was told to stretch my hamstrings for the next 4-6 months, perform NO squats, lunges...etc then try running near the end, if it didn't work (which he didn't seem confident it would; return and talk about what to do next. 

So, has this "condition" caused anyone else to retire from running?

I'm only 28. 

Comments

  • Just come across this searching for answers myself. I'm 33, played football/cricket for years without any injuries to my knees.

    Having paid to see a specialist his advice was to "find a way of managing it and to cut back, especially when you feel it starting to groan". He also said "gardening/diy should count as a training session". I took that to mean scale back and in truth i'm still trying to find where my boundaries lie.

    It's the great north run in a month and i am desperate for a 1h50, having run 1h53 in March but I sit here, my knee is groaning from the extra training already and i feel i may have to sacrifice that goal just to run.

    I'm no expert but if you have what I have - you don't need to retire, just need to scale back, listen to your knee, swim, cycle, apply ice (this helps me) and reconsider your goals....

    Hope this helps in some way!

  • Did you ever continue to run ?
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