Popcorn knees

[Anonymous]

My right knee is always popping- especially when I go up and down stairs. I used to be a regular runner but not so in the past 6 months. The popping makes me a little sick to my stomach when I hear it and DH wants me to go to a Dr. But I can't imagine what a Dr can do for me. It doesn't hurt, I can still run if I want to. Has anyone had something similar? Did you get it "fixed?" If so, how?

[Anonymous]

If it doesn't hurt, it's not serious. I think it's the knee cap not tracking right, and strengthening your quads and hamstrings can help that.

[Anonymous]

Thanks PP, that's kind of what I thought. I guess I should head back to spinning class...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it doesn't hurt, it's not serious. I think it's the knee cap not tracking right, and strengthening your quads and hamstrings can help that.

I had it in both knees and this was the cause. One way you can tell is to sit and have someone bend and straighten the noisy knee (so that your leg muscles are not engaging as they would if you moved it using your leg muscles). If there is no noise when your knee bends and straightens without the muscles engaged, you have a quad/ham muscle imbalance that is pulling the cap out of alignment.

I went to PT for a while, but didn't see much difference. You are right on target with a solution - spinning helped immensely.

[Anonymous]

just beware that a kneecap that isn't tracking correctly can lead to a whole host of problems, including wearing away of the cartilage on the back of kneecap, inflammation, patella tendinitis, and increased swelling. Chronic patella tendinitis is a nightmare I wouldn't wish on anyone.