knee tendonitis versus chondromalacia

Hi,

Hope this helps... I'm going through some knee pain myself so I've done a lot of reading up on it.  Usually pain in the center of the knee, behind the patella refers to patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS).  I think "chondramalacia" refers to one of the potential causes of PFPS.

From: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001488/

Anterior knee pain (PFPS) is a dull, aching pain that is most often felt:

• Behind the kneecap (patella)

• Below the kneecap

• On the sides of the kneecap

One common symptom is a grating or grinding sensation when the knee is flexed (when the ankle is brought closer to the back of the thigh).

Symptoms may be more noticeable with:

• Deep knee bends

• Going down stairs

• Running downhill

• Standing up after sitting for awhile

  Typically, knee tendinitis refers to patella tendinitis  (PT) so I assume that's what you mean.   PT symptoms mostly seem to include pain below the knee only... along the patella tendon.  PSPS, as noted above, refers to pain in one or many places around, behind the knee.  

   

  Both of these things PT & PFPS are treated differently.  

   

  PT seems to be the issue that's easier to deal with as there is more agreement on cause and treatment protocols.  The best I've seen is eccentric single-leg decline squats. http://runningwritings.blogspot.com/search?q=patella+tendonitis

  PFPS seems to be a little harder to treat because doctors really don't know what the cause is.  However, some believe it's because of muscular imbalances.  Treatment usually includes exercises  such as isolated quad, single leg raises, hip flexion / extension, hip abduction & external rotation, supine bridges, and wall squats or single-leg squat off of a step. I don't know if there'a  magic bullet for PFPS, but a combination of the exercises seems to be effective.  Take a read of this here: http://runningwritings.blogspot.com/2012/03/injury-series-uncovering-role-of-hip.html

   

   

  
  

I've been dealing with the same thing for almost a year. It's on and off. I started taking fish oil and, I'll-be!, when I don't take it, I do notice more pain. 

I've been trying to do some knee tracking exercises I learned in PT one time and if I actually do them, it helps. 

Awesome, thank you for the post.  I did a little research myself and came up with the same basic conclusion.  No pain below the knee cap and into the lower leg, probably chondromalacia.  I know I have knee tracking issues so that is a likely culprit.  I plan to add the exercises from your link into my repertoire.