Signs And Symptoms Of Chondromalacia

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Signs And Symptoms Of Chondromalacia

The hall mark of chondromalacia is pain, which is more constant with grade IV chondromalacia and more intermittent with grade III chondromalacia. Grade I and II chondromalacia are usually symptom free. Chondromalacia is most commonly found in the knee joint and there mainly under the knee cap. This painful syndrome is called "patellofomoral syndrome".

However, chondromalacia is also often found in the tibiofemoral joint, where there is the medial and the lateral compartment (simply meaning that anatomically there is an inside and an outside part of the knee joint). Alignment problems of the knees are either in the shape of a "genu valgus" (knock-knee, where the knees are close together, but the appearance of the upper and lower legs look like an X from behind) or in the shape of a "genu varus" (bowleggedness , where the appearance from behind is like an O).

In genu valgus the increased pressure onto the inside surfaces leads to a chondromalacia of the medial compartments on both sides. In bowleggedness the pressure on the ouside parts of the knees leads to lateral knee compartment chondromalacia on both sides.

If the pain leads to the patient resting more, there often is a corresponding muscle atrophy of the quadriceps muscle on one or both sides. Patellofemoral syndrome is more common among women, possibly because of the more common genu valgus among women. Often grinding can be felt by the examiner when the knee cap (patella) is pushed against the lower end of the femur and the knee is flexed and extended alternatingly.

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