I was working with a client in Italy named Ricardo. Ricardo is a Rugby player who suffered from Chondromalacia. He was constantly in pain because of the continuous deterioration of the cartilage behind his kneecap. Not to mention his ongoing desire to play rugby…

Chondromalacia is a condition in which the cartilage that is directly behind the kneecap softens and shreds due to a grating that occurs between the bones in the knee. There is too little space between the bones; it’s like they are pasted to the cartilage. It is difficult to get relief if you have Chondromalacia. Exercise and activity only make the condition and the pain much worse.

There are several different possible explanations as to why you may have this condition. Generally, there is an alignment issue in the knee such that the position of the knee in relation to the bones in the upper leg is slightly off. Sometimes, however, a tight IT Band can be the culprit. When the IT Band is tight, it creates a tension pattern in the knee that causes the cartilage and bone to rub together.

Whatever the reason, the bottom line is there’s not enough space in your knee for it to function properly. The first step to healing your Chondromalacia is to bring your knee to a place of comfort, let it relax, so that your body releases the built up tension in your knee. Once pressure is released, it’s possible to do several stretches that can create more space in your knee so the cartilage and bones can stop scraping each other.

This being said, it’s a good idea to get your knee checked by a doctor just to make sure that the shredded cartilage hasn’t separated and is floating around in your knee. If this is happens, those torn pieces can irritate your knee and continue to cause pain, even if you relieve the tension. So make sure this isn’t happening, and then you can begin a process to relax the tension and heal your knee pain.

Click here if you’re interested in Ricardo’s story and his resolved pain.