Not in the pool, no. But with cycling, yes. It was a frustrating condition, so I feel for you.
Rest, ice and NSAIDs were my tools to get rid of it; when I would suffer it I would not get back on the bike until it was completely gone, otherwise it would just come back again.
For 20 years, when I was playing soccer, I suffered a lot with this problem. Had therapy but it never disappeard completely. If I have to go up and down stairs, I feel the knee a bit, but in the pool never.
I think it can heal
I've had the same problem, only not during swimming. Have you tried a brace? My doctor suggested the Reaction brace. It's really cool, looks like a spider web and it grips around your knee. Only brace that has worked for me. I haven't tried it in the water, but I bet it would work just as well. I got mine at betterbraces.com. They do have a nice return policy, so you can try it out and if it doesn't work for you, it can be returned.
Thanks for the feedback. It's been going on since June but I waited a few months before seeing an orthopedist. MD is not suggesting surgery - that's the last place she wants to go as CP generally is not resolved surgically. Unfortunately swimming is usually seen more as a remedy since this is more of an injury in runners and jumpers. My PT says she has never met a swimmer with this problem before. I've been told I have to build up the medial part of my quad in order to realign the kneecap, not an easy thing to do!
I wouldn't conclude that sore knees fom squatting or sitting cross-legged is caused by CP. it's a very particular diagnosis based on structural deficiencies. We thought it was tendinitis until I had the MRI. But if you have stabbing pain in your kneecaps whenever you walk up or down the stairs, then it's a good idea to see a dr.
I was diagnosed with CP more than 10 years ago. I had been cross-training with running on the treadmill. Bad shoes, flat feet, and treadmill did not mix well. Doctor said my patella was not tracking properly and I had damaged the underside of my patella. I tried PT but it didn't help. I was having trouble going downstairs especially. In the pool, fly and flutter kick was painful. *** kick was not a problem (luckily).
I had my left knee scoped and the surgeon scraped off damaged cartiledge and released some tendon fibers to help patella track better. I took 6 months off of swimming and tried to strengthen my VMO muscle. I had less pain when I got back to the pool.
Now 10 years later, some days my knee doesn't bother me at all, some days just a minor annoyance. Some days the other knee that wasn't as bad is more noticeable. I gave up running for good!! Only do eliptical or bike now. However, I am prone for my scoped knee to swell up- arthritis may be settling in. Also, Orthotics in your shoes can make a big difference- at least for me it did
I believe the key to CP is strengthening the VMO. If you can do that with surgery that is great.
I had it when I was a teen.They went as far as talking surgery on me around age 13. I skipped the surgery and dealt with the pain while still swimming. When I was around 28 and not swimming but dancing ballet, the pain came back and much worse. I finally found a doctor who determined that my knee was out of alignment. One surgery and now, 12 years later, I'm fine. I did the brace, PT, ice, etc and nothing fixed it until the doctor determined the cause. Maybe a 2nd opinion will help.
Hnatkin, I see you are in Atlanta. That's where I went for my surgery. Dr. Gilogly's office is amazing and may be worth looking in to for a 2nd opinion.
I wonder if this is my problem. Sometimes I notice knee pain when squatting down and also if I try to sit Indian style, but the real pain is when I do breaststroke kick. Sometimes it really hurts at first--almost unbearable, but after a couple hundred yards it loosens up. Unfortunately just working through it has been the only thing that's worked for me so far. I just hope it doesn't get worse. I'd really be interested in knowing what I can do to prevent the pain. Stretching? Weights? I'd be curious to know what others have done or what the OP is doing in her PT (even though it's not working for her).
I had it about 20 years ago, in my mid-30's, from trying to study both ballet and african dance.
PT recomended stretching helped me a lot. Pt recommended strength exercises helped some. Switching from a 4 mile round trip walking commute to bicycle helped. Kicking (but not frog kicks) were recommended by my physician, but didn't seem to make much difference.
Good shoes help. (Uh... Carrie Bradshw's expensive shoes were never good shoes.)
I used a lot of NSAIDs. Glad to have put that behind me.
Three months? If your experience is like mine was, that is close to nothing at all. This takes a long time. Mine bothered me for msot of a decade after the original diagnosis. Seems to be OK now.
I would highly recommend asking around and finding the best PT you can. Mosty physicians would be poor substitutes for PTs. Find the best PT you can - there is a huge difference between the good ones and the not-so-good ones.
If you can find a sports medicine physiatrist, that would be helpful. Distrust surgeons. Please don't consider surgery unless a non-surgeon specialist recommends it.
Perhaps learning to "fire up" your glutes during a strength training regimen could help. I find that with my clients with knee issues this approach works quite well. Supine glute bridges, modified squats (perfect form) are just a few suggestions...
If you were suffering from runners knee, then elevating your knee above the chest level will be the best chondromalacia patella exercises. Elevation will increase blood circulation around your knee, which result in a decrease in swelling and pain. This chondromalacia patella exercises will also help in reducing toxin from the affected area.
While sitting or sleeping, put some pillows under your leg to rest and raise/elevate your knees. Raise the knee until you can during the day.
