Mr. Ingraham is straightforward. While he feels for those who suffer from Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS), he is quite clear about the possibility of recovery. Here is what he writes:
"Untreated, even a mild case of PFPS can be stubborn, bugging you off and on for years. Many cases will recover entirely within 6 weeks to 6 months. But with a case that doesn't improve in that time, the odds of recovering seem to drop sharply: the problem might go away after applying some new ideas you learn here, or it might go on for years, or perhaps the rest of your life. Not everyone gets painless knee function back."
Sigh... So you ask, what are the new ideas I have learned? Well, there are a few. One I have already started giving a try, the other seems almost impossible to do. Basically, once a person experiences PFPS an upset of the tissue homeostasis in the anterior knee area has occurred, usually due to trauma or long time overloading. I most likely fall into the long time overloading category, since I do not remember any specific trauma to my left knee. Up until I read this article, I figured "overloading" meant running or athletic activities of some kind. It's very interesting to learn, that is not always the case. More details to come...
1 comment:
Hi, Ali. Paul Ingraham, here. Just wanted to let you know that I have dropped in and read your posts. It’s always interesting to see what people blog about my tutorials! May I congratulate you particularly on your cautious and skeptical approach. I know my credentials are nothing impressive (though massage therapists are extraordinarily well-trained in Canada). But you kept reading and you let the research and the scientific evidence speak for itself. Ultimately my credentials as a health care professional aren’t that important — its my skill as a science journalist that makes or breaks the tutorial.
I completely understand your sense of disappointment at the relatively limited options for treating PFPS. It is daunting. On the other hand, in my experience, very few people have actually given a well-designed resting strategy a fair shot, and when they finally do, it can often produce surprisingly good results. I try to keep patient expectations nice and realistic ... but there really is hope, too.
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