i play football at a competetive amateur level and train heavily almost every day. like two three years ago i started havin this injury in my knees which continues to plague me now. at first it was just some really sharp pain evry time i tried to run or move fast and it would only lasted a few days and would not occur often. however, recently it has become much more pronounced and if i do any serious running the pain and weakness in my knees returns, does anyone have an idea of what the problem is and what i can do to solve it? i have tried resting it for about a week which gives relief but only until i start playing again. all contributions would be appreciated

You may suffer from runners knee.

Runner’s knee’ used to be known as chondromalacia patellae, but is now more often referred to as patello-femoral pain (PFP). It occurs when the patella fails to move smoothly and centrally through the femoral groove at the lower end of the thigh bones. This is sometimes due to muscle imbalance or abnormal anatomy, but it can also be the result of another injury which causes you to favour one leg in some way

Signs
Despite the acute pain, your joint may look normal. Your knee may swell up, but this is more often due to other knee problems, such as a bursa or Hoffa’s syndrome, in which the fatty pads around the patella become swollen. You will probably have wasted inner quadriceps muscles (the vastus medialis), knock knees (genu valgum), overpronation, flattened longitudinal arches or a twisted tibia. More women suffer from the problem than men, and it often occurs in people with jobs which involve lots of sitting with knees bent.

Your doctor may try Clarke’s test, in which they’ll pull the kneecap towards your toes while inviting you to gently straighten your knee. You’ll feel pain; they’ll feel a roughness or grating as the uneven rear surface of the patella moves through the femoral groove. The doctor will also want to look at the wear of your running shoes.

Self-treatment
One factor in knee pain may be an inability to lock out the knee. Trying to do so stimulates the inner quadriceps muscles which strengthen and pull the patella straight. In most cases, little harm comes from performing this exercise, however it can make PFP worse if there is an imbalance in your quadriceps muscles and you perform knee extensions on a machine. You will therefore need to perform straight-leg exercises. Change your shoes if they have become worn, and correct any biomechanical abnormalities with orthoses or other appropriate aids.

Medical treatment
Thankfully, steroid injections and surgery aren’t often used to treat PFP. Some physiotherapists successfully tape the patella, drawing it back towards the mid-line, and can teach you how to do this yourself. Knee supports may effectively shift your patella towards the middle, but probably at some biomechanical cost which may itself cause injury. If our maker had wanted us to use knee supports, we would have been born with them. In fact, he did and we have; we have just forgotten how to develop and use them. Other forms of physiotherapy will ease PFP, but controlled exercises form the mainstay of treatment.


My knees were aching but I think it was because I was a little ambitious with my workouts so I took a week off and im much better. Maybe your body is trying to tell you to rest .

hmmm very interesting.ill try giving it a rest. thanks!

If you want to try some home remedies then check out the link given below. This link contains the best treatment of Chondromalacia