Do you feel pain in the lateral part of the knee or during daily activities while running?
What is the lateral patella syndrome – you will learn from this article!
The lateral patellar support syndrome can be the primary and secondary cause of the development of ailments in the knee joint or the effect of functional problems surrounding the knee joint. A common feature of all these ailments is the noticeable pain in the knee area with a special location on the external side of the patella with its extreme lateral position.
In an anatomically difficult situation, the lateral position of the patella is impossible to bring to the medial even in a relaxed knee position. This type of problem is due to the very large contractions of the side straps, which in the process of recurrent inflammation within them and following this accumulating scarring become impossible to stretch with the therapist’s hand. This is the moment at which any physiotherapeutic interventions may not have an effect on curing this dysfunction, so you should consider surgical intervention consisting in total cutting of the straps, which at this stage seems to be the fastest way to deal with lateral patellar syndrome.
In situations other than extreme qualifying for surgery and sometimes in the preparatory period for surgery, it seems necessary to conduct physiotherapy. A number of treatments in the field of manual therapy, kinesitherapy and others can be used to increase patella lateral mobility and to increase the strength of the patella stabilising muscles.
The tissue problems that you can expect around the knee are divided into muscle and structural (all non-muscle) structures. Added to this are functional problems, which are often the result of cooperation between all or part of the tissue components.
Muscle structures whose work is disturbed in lateral patellar syndrome include:
- muscle failure medial quadriceps head and excessive lateral tension head quadriceps muscle of the thigh,
- no stretching of the sciatic-shin group.
Passive structures whose work is disturbed in lateral patellar support syndrome include:
- iliac tibial contracture,
- side straps contracture,
- increased valgus of the knee joint,
- bone instability of the patellofemoral joint
Functional disorder should be considered after solving structural problems, based on correct patterns and their automation:
- walking on bent knees,
- knee crookedness during squatting due to articular contracture of the lower limb chain or poor training of muscular strength of the lower limb.
In conclusion, when this is not an extreme case that requires surgical intervention, it is best to contact a specialist who will help you choose the right exercises for you or perform the appropriate therapy.
