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Possible Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome?

Hi,

I recently started going to the gym about a month back. Being a skinny 17 year old, I wanted to get atleast a little bigger before I headed off to college. My routine consists of squats, deadlifts, bench press, military press and power cleans alternating on M/W/Th. However about two weeks back I suppose I pushed myself too hard on the squats and loaded too much weight without having proper form. What happened was that after squatting down, trying to come back up was extremely difficult. Around parallel my right knee seemed to have locked up. I ended up dropping the weight and after that my right knee has had a dull aching pain in it. It's gotten worse since I've seen my general practitioner who did a test on my right knee. I have taken a break from squats for a week now but I'm still doing the rest of my exercises.

I experience a dull aching pain around my right kneecap area after:
1. waking up and walking
2. going up/down stairs
3. getting up after sitting in a chair for a while

My knee also feels a little weak when I am standing on it.

I would appreciate it if a doctor confirmed what I suppose is patellofemoral pain syndrome and what I should do in terms of treating it. Thank you!
Best Answer
351246 tn?1379682132
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hi!
Pain in the front portion of the knee can be caused by bursitis (inflammation of the lining of the joint, is possible due to injury or infection or autoimmune disease etc), arthritis, or injury to the patella cartilage (front portion of the knee). Pain on either sides of the knee is usually related to meniscal tears, injuries to the collateral ligaments, and even to arthritis. Ligament injury causes pain to worsen on walking, bending and stretching the knee. Meniscii too if torn or injured cause pain worsening on walking and result in joint instability—that is you are not confident the knee joint will take your weight. Often the person feels a popping sensation on moving the joint. It can also be tendinitis due to inflammation of tendon at the knee joint. So, all these aspects should be looked into while diagnosing your pain.
Weakness and pain in the knee can also be due to patellofemoral pain syndrome. This happens due to overuse of joint, excess weight on joint (as in the squats you were doing), muscular dysfunction, foot deformities causing wrong weight transmission to knee and some biochemical changes. First physical therapy is started. Other treatments include knee caps and braces, taping the patella to reduce friction, anti inflammatory drugs, custom designed foot wear to correct arch problems if any and rest to the knee joint and applying ice packs. You need to avoid postures where knee is kept bent for long. Please consult a sports injury specialist or an orthopedic specialist for this. Take care!


The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.
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Avatar universal
Except now I think the pain has changed to a more sharp pain that comes in waves.
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