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Chondromalacia patella
It is easy to twist a knee, bang a knee,
land the wrong way, there is a lot of reasons,
arthritis comes up, those
are some of the reasons. Also a lot of Chondromalacia patella, that is
where the knee bone kind of cracks a little bit against the femur, the
thigh bone.
Chondromalacia patella. Malacia means break down, condro means
cartilage,
patella means the back of the knee bone, which is call the patella, (and
there) is the thickest cartilage in the body. It starts rubbing the
wrong way against the tract that it slides in and with repetitive use
like running or stair climbing, things of that nature, any sport really,
the repetitive use just wears out the back of that knee cap and begins
the arthritis process and pain. This is also one of the easiest things
to heal with
Prolotherapy.
It is usually just a couple of
injections
with sugar water and it starts a little inflammatory cycle and builds up
collagen
there.
The patella, commonly called the kneecap, sits in a groove at the front
of the knee. The most common knee problems encountered in clinical
practice involve the patella, because its anatomical placement subjects
it directly to a variety of bony and soft tissue disorders.
A portion of the general population is subject to these disorders, which
include:
Patellofemoral syndrome (patella mistracks in femoral groove);
Excessive torsional deformity of the tibia;
High or lateral position of the patella;
Shallow femoral trochlea;
Atrophy of vastus medialus oblique muscle;
Increased quadriceps angle (often in those with wide hips);
Over-development of the vastus lateralis muscles;
Flat feet;
Excessive pronation of the feet (feet turn up to the side).
Behind the patella is a layer of articular cartilage-the thickest layer
of cartilage found in any of the joints of the body.
Until recently, we did not know that cartilage is directly treatable by
trigger point injections
and Prolotherapy. We knew the benefits Prolotherapy offered in adjoining
soft tissue, due to the strengthening of the supporting
ligaments
and tendons, which keep the joints properly aligned and thereby protect
the cartilage from erosion caused by friction.
A recent study, showed that Prolotherapy stimulates the growth of
articulate cartilage. (Reeves
KD Hassanein K Randomized prospective double-blind placebo-controlled
study of dextrose prolotherapy for knee osteoarthritis with or without
ACL laxity. Alt Ther Hlth Med
2000;6(2):37-46.)
In this study, people who had knee arthritis, and, who suffered from
knee pain for an average of eight years or more, received Prolotherapy
over a six month period. Important to note is that 35% of the knees
examined for the study had no cartilage remaining in one or more major
compartments.
The results? Thirty-five percent (35%) reduction of pain, 45%
improvement in swelling and 67% improvement in knee buckling as well as
a 13 degree improvement in knee range of motion.
Prolotherapy works on most knee problems with excellent results. Only in
the case of a completely torn ligament is Prolotherapy somewhat limited.
If there is a partial tear (sometimes on
MRI these may look like complete
tears) Prolotherapy maybe able to reconstruct the ligament and
strengthen the joint. But even with a complete tear, Prolotherapy is
extremely beneficial because an impact with enough force to completely
rupture a ligament will also loosen the entire knee structure.
Prolotherapy in this situation can strengthen the surrounding tissues
giving the patient a better chance of long-term success. It is rare that
a patient who is not active in sports or a competitive athlete needs ACL
surgery. Many athletes function on an ACL deficient knee.
Radio show caller
with Chondromalacia patella |
DARROW
WELLNESS INSTITUTE
