Re: Plica Syndrome / Patello-Femoral Syndrome? - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

07-24-2003, 05:56 PM

Alan Jeddeloh wrote:
> I've been bothered by a soreness in my left knee since mid November. It
> came on suddenly, and at first I though I had just strained a tendon. It
> petty much limited my riding until the first of the year. At that point
> I got back into intermittent commuting and weekend rides of 15-20 miles.
> The soreness started coming back and I went to the doctor a few weeks
> ago. The doctor examined the knee, concluded there was nothing
> structurally wrong, other than chronic inflammation or tendonitis. He
> put me on a prescription NSAID for a week and told me to stay off the
> bike for that time to give it a chance to get thoroughly quieted down.
> After I again rode to work, did a brief run for lunch, and rode home --
> 18 miles net for the day. My knee again acted up coming home, becoming
> downright painful pulling the last hill.
> I returned to the doctor the next day, different Doctor* again examined
> the knee and concluded there was nothing structurally wrong, gave me
> some Celebrex samples and a referral to a PT.
> I saw the PT the following day, who made her own evaluation (nothing
> structurally wrong with the knee) BUT: my kneecaps are sitting to the
> outside a bit. Her supposition was that I either have Patello-Femoral
> Syndrome (Patella not tracking properly causing irritation, or Plica
> Syndrome, where the medial Plica** is inflamed. For both she gave me a
> set of stretching exercises (Hamstrings, Quads, Iliotibular band, plus
> a stretch for the kneecap itself. She also assigned me to get another
> bike fitting.
> I did the fitting, then tried a ride. At about 8 miles my knee served
> notice that if I didn't stop soon it was going to make my life
> miserable. I reported my status to the PT the next day. This time she
> deep-massaged the knee in the area of the medial Plica and found a nice
> big bump. I came home with some more exercises and stretches.
> I spent some time on the web researching Patello-Femoral Syndrome and
> Plica Syndrome. Between the PT visit and various web sites, it seems
> like the Plica is the most likely culprit. The depressing news is that
> it looks like the "conservative" course of treatment runs 6-12 weeks and
> only works in about 40-50% of cases. During that time you have to give
> up the aggravating activities (cycling, in this case). The next option
> appears to be arthroscopic surgery to remove the Plica.
> Has anybody had experiences with Plica Syndrome? How did it turn out?
> How long did it take you to get back on the bike.
> --
> Alan Jeddeloh "ajeddelo at easystreet dot com" The person who said "The
> only things certain in life are death and taxes" didn't do the laundry
> in a family with children!
> * Same practice, I usually get the doctor on call. ** The Medial Plica
> is simply a fold of spare tissue on the synovial sac.

--
>--------------------------<
Posted via cyclingforums.com
[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]