Soft tissue healing around knee cap, how much can physiotherapy help?

[ecote]

I reluctantly went back to physiotherapy today. While in previous years my goal has always been to get back into competitive shape, the only thing I could think about this time was not wanting to feel like a 50 yr old! (I'm in my twenties). I have a pretty "bad" case of chrondomalacia, and the P/T found a big lump of scar tissue on the quad. tendon in my bad knee. The effect of this apparently is that it keeps my knee cap rotated about 20-30 degrees! The P/T said that he'd have me in better shape in 4-5 soft-tissue treatments, unfortunately, I have to pay for this round of physio "out-of-pocket" since my insurance won't cover it anymore. The cost isn't that prohibitive, I can afford it, even though I have better things to spend my money on. So my question is whether this P/T can actually be of benefit to me? Yes, the physiotherapist is a professional, but also a businessman. I have to question whether this will worth it, or whether it'll be like the 3-4 other physiotherapist I've seen, but who have never been able to help me out.

Thanks!

[Nettan]

Have you asked what will be done..massage, ultrasound ?
If your kneecap is rotated has any OS looked at you before going to physio ?

[ecote]

The OS didn't even notice it, he basically looked at an MRI report and told me to modify my activities and to deal with it. I didn't ask specifically what the P/T would do, but I would assume it would involve ultrasound, electro stim, and soft-tissue massage.

I probably just have the wrong mindset, maybe the P/T really knows what he's talking about.. but I can only think back to the other ones I've been to, never been any help at all, and in some respects, are the cause of my chronic knee pain since they persisted that I do squats and not to worry about the little bit of discomfort that arose, that it would get better eventually.

[Nettan]

You know your body and what you can do or not, to avoid more pain. Don't let them force you doing things that don't feel good for you.
Also you need to find a PT you can trust and be straight and talk all through and express your concerns before starting any treatment.