Injury Patellofemoral pain

[Karashindo]

Hi!
My daughter's knee is giving her much grief. She is wearing a patella band that helps. We tried physiotherapy, but honestly, the exercises that they were giving her were kind of pointless. I don't think the physiotherapists fully understood the intensity of her gym hours.
Can anyone recommend any exercises that may help?
TIA

 

[sunshineandflowers]

my daughter had the same issue - we spent months (like probably 6 or 7) in physio - we tried a patella band but her leg is so little we couldn't find one that fit. In the end, we found KT tape worked great - she still uses it at every practice and competition. They showed her how to tape it. She did all the exercises recommended by the PT - I don't have the sheet with me - she had to do them for a prolonged period but they did help. We did modify her training for a couple of weeks when it was really bad and she still finds front tuck landings to be painful but her pain has really improved.
How many hours is your daughter in the gym each week?

 

[Karashindo]

my daughter had the same issue - we spent months (like probably 6 or 7) in physio - we tried a patella band but her leg is so little we couldn't find one that fit. In the end, we found KT tape worked great - she still uses it at every practice and competition. They showed her how to tape it. She did all the exercises recommended by the PT - I don't have the sheet with me - she had to do them for a prolonged period but they did help. We did modify her training for a couple of weeks when it was really bad and she still finds front tuck landings to be painful but her pain has really improved.
How many hours is your daughter in the gym each week?

Thank you. We started with KT tape, and following the orthopedic dr's advice we switched to the patella band which works better for her. She is 14 hours a week at the gym. She is 13.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

My daughter had some issues with Patellofemoral pain months after recovering from an unrelated knee surgery. She did a virtual PT session with Ian Crider (the gymnastics doc on FB) and whatever he had her do resolved things almost immediately. His pricing is super reasonable, and he is also a coach so understands gymnastics.

 

[sunshineandflowers]

Thank you. We started with KT tape, and following the orthopedic dr's advice we switched to the patella band which works better for her. She is 14 hours a week at the gym. She is 13.

mine is 10 and there 12 hours a week Where did you get the patella band? Does your daughter find it stays in place well??

 

[Karashindo]

The brand that was recommended to us by the doctor is McDavid, and I believe she uses the level 2. You can get it at sport shops and also on Amazon. It holds fine on her.

 

[Dahlialover]

Hi!
My daughter's knee is giving her much grief. She is wearing a patella band that helps. We tried physiotherapy, but honestly, the exercises that they were giving her were kind of pointless. I don't think the physiotherapists fully understood the intensity of her gym hours.
Can anyone recommend any exercises that may help?
TIA

I recommend finding a different physio, ideally one with experience treating gymnasts.

 

[Ncgymnastmom]

My daughter dealing with this now and she actually wears a full knee brace because it stays on better than a band. May be worth a try. She says it helps a lot.

 

[Lynn08]

I usually wore a compression sleeve with a patella band over it. I found it stayed better. Additionally, you can use rolled up prewrap in place of a patella band, that may stay better. I've had a bit of success with using coban in place of that too. There are also some full knee braces that support the patella and can provide the same support of a band (albeit they usually also support the knee cap) without slipping as much as a patella band. Obviously though, please talk to a doctor or PT about what specifically makes the most sense for your kiddo.

 

[Gymdancemm11]

Hi!
My daughter's knee is giving her much grief. She is wearing a patella band that helps. We tried physiotherapy, but honestly, the exercises that they were giving her were kind of pointless. I don't think the physiotherapists fully understood the intensity of her gym hours.
Can anyone recommend any exercises that may help?
TIA

I am dealing with this issue currently. I have had pattelrtendentis (along with a bunch of other knee injuries) for 4 years now and what helps me is using tape right under my knee cap. I also tape on the sides of my knee cap using something similar to K.T tape. I now where a full knee brace which helps a lot. For me personally doing my physical therapy exercises have helped tremedosly.

I also do this thing called electrotherapy also known as a tens unit and it helps a lot!

 

[Dahlialover]

I started having patella-femoral pain as a teen gymnast and I continued to struggle with it for over a decade. Then in my late 20s, I took up hiking as a hobby. Somehow, walking up and down mountain paths at a reasonable pace in supportive shoes cured my petella-femoral syndrome pain! I’m sure the same thing could be achieved by doing physiotherapy but hiking is more fun.