Patella chondropathy is a common painful condition of the knees that mainly affects the cartilage of the patella and secondarily the cartilage of the femoral trochlea. Today, the term patellar chondropathy is no longer used and has been replaced by the terms anterior knee pain, patellofemoral joint syndrome, and patellofemoral overload syndrome.
The patella is a small bone located at the front of the knee. Its action is to assist in the movement of the knee, acting as a pulley that increases the lever arm during knee flexion and extension movements. During these movements, the patella slides into a special groove (intercondylar incision) located in the femur and more specifically between the medial and external femoral condyle. Between the anterior surface of the intercondylar incision and the posterior surface of the patella there is an articular cartilage, i.e. a thin elastic sheath, which ensures the smooth movement of these surfaces.
Chondropathy of the patella is the damage that occurs to this articular cartilage due to an abnormal course of the patella within the intercondylar incision. The result of these is the outward displacement of the patella, which leads to its impact on the outer femoral condyle during the knee flexion movement and gradual wear of the articular cartilage. The main symptom of chondropathy is causing pain to the patient during bending movements of the knee, such as going down stairs or sitting in a chair for a long time. In flexion movements and positions, the kneecap is in maximum contact with the thigh, while the pressures exerted on the bones are quite large.
The treatment of articular cartilage depends on the stage of its degeneration. In the initial stages where the damage is small, the main goal is to align and restore the misalignment of the patella, which can be achieved with a physical therapy program of strengthening exercises for weak muscle groups and Manual Therapy mobilizations.
In more advanced stages with greater damage to the cartilage, the treatment may initially be surgical, in order to attempt the interventional correction and restoration of the cartilage damage, and in the second year physical therapy, with an appropriately designed program to restore the kinematics of the patellofemoral joint, but also strengthening the necessary muscles.
