Questions

June 11, 2008

,

That is good advice. I have had PT's that wanted to do exercises that

caused excessive pain. DON " T DO IT!!!! They do not understand the problem

and are causing damage. Obviously, this does not apply to exercises after a

surgery to promote range of motion. There can be aches and some pain, but

sharp pain is an indication to stop.

Don

On 6/11/08, Fox <intlulu@...> wrote:

>

> My physical therapists have treated many teenagers, particularly girls,

> with chondromalacia patella. Typically they're very active in sports, so I

> suppose that it brings up the problems of a misalignment earlier than it

> otherwise may have presented.

> & nbsp;

> My advice would be just to make sure you're very comfortable with her

> doctor, that she gets really good physical therapy and that they teach her

> what will work and what won't for her particular situation. In PT, the

> exercises they do with her should not cause sharp/acute pain or they are

> doing damage. Depending on her case, a low achy pain doing the PT may be

> okay.

> & nbsp;

> Be sure to ask lots of questions from the doc and PT as her knee will be

> different from anyone else's regarding what she should/shouldn't do. Ask

> about what she can do long-term to help preserve her knees as long as

> possible in terms of therapy, exercise, lifestyle.

> & nbsp;

> Good luck to you both.

>

June 11, 2008

They did a " keyhole " surgery, lateral release and smoothing or the meniscus.

This was well over a year ago and her chronic pain is between a 3 and 7

depending on the surfaces she is on and the activity level.

The softer the ground the more she can do for a longer duration.

She is good at moderating her pain. She knows the downfalls of NASID type

drugs and uses them sparingly. She allows the pain to dictate the activity level

and has learned at a young age self-control. She knows the benefits of knee

braces. She will switch to various ones depending on the amount of support

she feels she needs. She has a reactions to long use of heavy knee braces. Skin

eruptions and scarring to the back of her knee where they will catch. Also

the realization that a brace with never replace the strength she needs for

support.

Maybe she can no longer play the sports she wants, or spend the day hiking

an amusement park with her friends but she program a computer, design web

pages, play the piano and speak foreign languages (self taught by reading

sub-titles while watching her favorite movies in French and Japanese). I guess

it is

her way of turning " lemons into lemon aid " .

If you would like to reach me direct the screen name I am normally under is

_URnotIM@..._ (mailto:URnotIM@...) .

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June 11, 2008

Chondromalacia is not that uncommon in young girls surprisingly

enough. Tracking problems and injuries will cause damage and yes

softening of the cartilidge. My daughter who is now 14 has suffered

with this for nearly two years now. The ortho doc and her

pediatrician were both coming to the point of thinking she just was

looking for attention. She had some tracking problems, a dislocated

knee cap and a fall on a rock that you could hear. From that day on

she has had chronic pain. When they finally did the knee surgery the

doctor actually apologized to her after he saw how soft the

cartilidge actually was and realized how much pain she must be in.

My daughter has had to accept that weight bearing sports are only

going to create more damage to her knee. We have encourage non-weight

bearing sports. Swimming is wonderful and she does ride her bike

quite a bit. She is on alternate gym giving the option of exercise

that is comfortable for her. PT at home is mandatory and we have

worked with trigger point theraphy as well. She has become more

involved with acedemic students and her grades are now soaring with

many awards this year.

I know it is heartbreaking to see when you child can no longer do

what they love. Mine still cries sometimes that she can't even run

like the other kids. But we " pull up our big girl panties " and

reevalute. There are a million things in this world to do and see and

we want to do it all so we redirect our attention and go have fun!

Tell her she can drop my daughter any time. Best Wishes!

> > >

> > > My 13 year old was just diagnosed with this and I was

wondering

> how

> > > long a period of time one needs to stay inactive before going

> back to

> > > softball.

> > >

> >

> > I think with this condition if you just " rest " it's never going

to

> > improve. Must do straight leg lifts starting with no weight and

> > gradually increase the weight with ankle weights. Hopefully that

> will

> > get them to the point where they have no pain at all and can get

> back

> > to sports.

> >

> I have had it for years and years - I hate to tell people this,

but

> I must be honest - if it's really condromalacia patella, you must

> take drastic steps to protect the knee, and that means no stop and

> start sports, or sports that pound the knee or pose threats of

> twisting or ankle sprains. I'd say take up non-competition

cycling,

> walking and swimming and forget hoops, soccer, softball and

> track.... I am skeptical that a 13 year old could get chondro

> though. At that age, I'm thinking that it could possibly be

> something else. Hope that it is...chondro does one thing only - it

> stays with you like a bad penny.

>

> **************Vote for your city's best dining and nightlife.

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>

June 11, 2008

Pintogal, What type of surgery did your daughter have?

Re: questions