Understanding Knees Part 2: Anterior Knee Pain (Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome) with Dr Claire Minshull

The second part of a series explaining common knee injuries, in which Dr Claire Minshull covers anterior knee pain, known clinically as patellofemoral pain syndrome and colloquially as runners’ knee. She explains that while acute trauma or quadriceps tendon pain can be responsible, the most common cause is patella maltracking, where the kneecap moves abnormally as the knee bends and straightens, arising from improper alignment, muscle imbalance or poor biomechanics, and notes that women suffer more often than men because of their musculoskeletal make-up. A symptom checklist covers diffuse pain at the front of the knee, worse on prolonged sitting, kneeling, squatting, stairs and after exercise. Treatment is usually a structured exercise programme conditioning the vastus medialis rather than surgery.