My PT taped my knee last week to help alleviate some of the symptoms of my patellofemoral problems. He applied an underwrap and then applied one piece of tape, starting on the lateral side then pulling it tight and sticking it to the medial side. This seemed to almost instantly do away with my symptoms. I’d like to start doing it on my own, but am at a loss for the details of the procedure. Can anyone provide some insight into this, or maybe a link to a site describing how it’s done? I tried a google search, but came up with little usefull information.
I would caution against it. I did it for a couple months. It helped the kneecap pain, but I ended up with a killer case of ITBS from the compression. Have you tried physical therapy? I had a set of 4 or 5 exercises that had the runner’s knee gone in <2 weeks after months and months of struggling with it. There was a really good thread recently with a bunch of great rehab ideas.
What it boils down to is taping the knee is a way to take away the pain without changing the muscle imbalance that is causing the pain. Good quick fix, but not a great long term strategy.
edit- Duh, you’re seeing a PT… has anything else helped you that you’ve done with him?
I see you are still having trouble. I was searching the topic last night because I, too, am still struggling with “chondramalacia” (in quotes because no one really seems to know). After a relatively trouble-free knee in '07, I’m at my worst again. All from the bike, too. Haven’t run in a year now.
I’m looking for anything to take away the symptoms now, I’m doing corrective excersizes and all that stuff, but the pain is pretty bad just from walking around. The way things have been going, it never really gets a chance to rest, because I walk a good amount just on a daily basis. Honestly, after dealing with this for so long, a case of ITBS would be a fair exchange!
I suppose the taping works similar to a patellar strap. I had similar issues for quite some time (years) in one knee and thought I was never going to get over it. I started to wear a patellar strap
(http://www.kneesupport.com/bodyglove/pat-matt.htm) and was religious about icing the knee each night for 20-30 minutes. I continued to run and it healed completely over a 3-4 month period. I’ve had no problems with my knees for several years now despite training for IM distances races.
The taping technique is called McConnell taping. You can actually do it yourself if you ask your PT for supplies and to instruct you on the placing and tension of the tape.
I’ve suffered from patella tendonopathy on and off and late last year it was starting to flare up again whilst preparing for an IM. I’d seen the chopat strap on internet and thought I’d try and simulate it by using tape. With my right knee I would just apply one revolution over the tendon in a counter-clockwise direction (front, inside, rear, outside). Whilst that seemed to help the situation I think it pulled my ITB in tighter as I got falre ups there.
I had the same thing happen early Jan (taped knee had ITB starting to sting so ripped off tape and ITB was fine). Recently I had a bike fit and the guy, who’s also a physio, said he could tell I had tracking issues in the right leg. Apparently my foot was positioned such that at rest if angled down to the little toe side so when I did apply force the foot would roll in to true neutral, twisting the knee in the process. He placed a shim in the right shoe and since then I have had no knee dramas even though I have really cranked it up running wise. Thus you could possibly get some overall relief from your bike setup.
What didn’t you like about the tape? It’s uncomfortable on the surface, but it’s the first time I’ve felt relief on the inside in about a year.
Just uncomfy and restrictive feeling. I’m not convinced that tracking was (is) the issue for me.
As mentioned in the earlier post, it’s called McConnell taping. Your PT can teach you, and let you know if the tape is supposed to correct via a glide, a tilt, or a rotation of the patella. Depending on which one, or combination, it will affect how you apply it. ( Not to make it sound unnecessarily complicated, but it’s easier to get the technique correct if you can visualize what you’re trying to accomplish, IMO.)
The patellar strap, (e.g. Cho-pat strap) is for unloading the patella. A bit different idea than the taping, which tries to correct the tracking. Since the tape is on for awhile, it’s thought to actually stretch some of the tight tissues around the patella, not just alleviate the symptoms. But that’s in combo with other approaches. The knee is a victim joint, so the foot and hip usually have some contribution to the problem. good luck!
As many have intimated here, taping is a band-aid, but not a long term solution. If I was your sports doc (and I’m not), I’d be carefully looking at your therapy protocol. How long have you been at it? Are you seeing any results? Recovery from patellofemoral syndrome can take many months in severe cases. I often discourage my patients from doing a lot of taping that provides symptomatic relief, because it encourages them to train / play as usual. I’ve found the best results often come from a serious rest from hard training (relative rest, not absolute rest), and addressing the PT regimen with the kind of focus you would apply to your training.
All this said, taping may be a viable option if you are so miserable that it is interfering with your activities of daily living. Just avoid using it as a training aid.
Thanks for all the info, the problem has been around for over a year and I’ve tried just about everything for it. I just started with a new PT after giving up on the old one. I’m starting to see some relief and I’m being VERY cautious about training. The knee becomes irritated just from walking around, so the tape is just to give it some relief and to hopefully speed up the healing of the injured tissues.
I would caution against it. I did it for a couple months. It helped the kneecap pain, but I ended up with a killer case of ITBS from the compression. Have you tried physical therapy? I had a set of 4 or 5 exercises that had the runner’s knee gone in <2 weeks after months and months of struggling with it. There was a really good thread recently with a bunch of great rehab ideas.
What it boils down to is taping the knee is a way to take away the pain without changing the muscle imbalance that is causing the pain. Good quick fix, but not a great long term strategy.
edit- Duh, you’re seeing a PT… has anything else helped you that you’ve done with him?
Jodi
any chance to get a link to that thread with the rehab ideas?, I am struggling with this as well even though I had surgery 9 months ago to ‘clean-up’ the tendon and have been to the PT…
I had the same problem and it was basically all from my bike. My seat was a bit too low and and my seat too far forward which I was told continually loaded my knee and caused me to have problems. I could not run or ride when it got to it’s worst. Though funny enough at the early stages riding hurt but running was fine. Doctor said that by riding the way I did cause my quads to dominate my leg and pull the knee cap around. Any time my quads engaged it caused severe pain. Physio (7 months) was what eventually solved it and I did have my bike fit sorted out and fortunately have not had the same issue for a couple of years. Can’t help with the taping but you might want to check your bike fit just in case.
Do you have the links to the rehab that you did on your knee? I’ve gone from a nice and easy 20miles to .2miles in pain. I’m working with a PT but I’m
getting anxious as CDA getting real close.
Wall squats slowly making sure your knees are over your toes
Step-ups (I use the second stair of my steps). Again, make sure your knee is not bowing out on the way up
Controlled lunges
(10-20 reps of each, twice per day)
Running man: Get on the first step of your stairs.
Face the wall (not up or down)
Step so one leg is on the stailr, one is hanging off towards the ground
Slowly move the leg that is free in a running motion. Make sure the leg that is on the step is partially bent at the knee, and not rotated.
Do 20-30 slow running motions with each leg (you will have to turn 180 degrees to do the other leg). It looks really silly, but the combination of all 4 exercises had me feeling better in a week after battling really painful kneecaps for an entire season
Just to throw my .02 in. I found a good Chiro that practices ART. After three treatments I am pain free and running pain free for the first time since November. I have been to three Orthos, several months of PT (including taping) and this has been the only thing that has helped. My only lingering issue is that I still get pain while swimming. This is most likely my fault as I figured I could just return to Masters without easing back into it. Going to a Chiro was way down on my options list when this injury popped up on me, but it has been the best option so far.
quick question for you on the topic…
if typically the VMO is ‘weak’ compared to the lateralus, and the patella tracks laterally, why is the pain then felt on the medial side? I’d think it would irritate the lateral side of the patella.
When the patella tracks laterally it causes tenison forces on the medial tissue called the patella retinaculum causing the inside pain. The patella like most things in your body is not a free floating object it has tissues that connect to it.
Just of note there are many different causes of PF pain, it can be caused by foot problems, hip problems, etc. If you are dealing with it, it really pays to see at ATC or PT who knows what they are doing and can diagnose its cause and develop an effective rehabilitation plan.
