The patello-femoral joint :
PFS vs Chrondomalacia - - Posted by irish545 (irish545), 26 July 2004
Silly question: I've read many articles that say that PFS (maltracking & pain) is NOT the same thing as Chrondomalacia Patella (cartilage deterioration & damage). Here's a great example of an article explaning how they are different and one can cause the other in some cases: http://www.dynomed.com/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/knee_and_lower_leg/Patello-Femoral_pain.html
Is this correct? It makes sense that they are not the same thing.
I've been diagnosed with PFS and am very unhappy with my ortho. I am going to accept a referral from him to see a different specialist. One of the things that concerns me the most about the approach of the current OS is that he says the info above is wrong--he says that PFS and Chrondomalacia Patella are exactly the same thing and should be treated in the exact same manner.
Any opinions?
Posted by ATsoccergirl (ATsoccergirl), 26 July 2004
Correct, PFS and chondromalacia are two different things.
Chondromalacia is actually a softening of the posterior aspect of the kneecap which leads to degeneration and sometimes pain. This is actually quite common in older adults and in most cases is asymptomatic. This is also not a diagnosis but rather a symtom. The majority of insurance companies I work with would refuse any treatment claims for chondromalacia.
PFS, on the other hand, is a catchall term for all the various knee cap problems.
Posted by Cora (Cora), 27 July 2004
I think the other thing worth mentioning is you can have chondromalacia due to old age, a jarring impact to the kneecap and other causes not associated with PFS.
However PFS will always have chondromalacia. 99% of the time in a young person chondromalacia is caused by PFS.
The doctor may have thought he was speaking in layman's terms. I know it sucks. My doctor told me I had chondromalacia and left the room until I brought him back and asked him what the heck it was.
Posted by ATsoccergirl (ATsoccergirl), 4 August 2004
If you are going to quote statistics please provide references to back them up.
In younger people, PFS does not always cause chondromalacia. Personally, I have worked with a number of athletes where they had no trace of chondromalacia but they still have a clinical diagnosis of PFS.
Updated Thu Apr 29 2010
