Just love wearing high heels? 4 groups should be careful to prevent patellar valgus

I’m still young, but my knees always ache. Could it be the early onset of degenerative arthritis? Chinese medicine practitioners said that if people find that the pain occurs at the front edge of the knee, it is likely that they have patellar valgus, commonly known as "knee valgus". As long as it is treated early and combined with thigh "quadriceps" muscle strength training, the degree of patellar valgus can be corrected and it can also prevent deterioration into degenerative arthritis.

Wearing high heels and walking around, office lady suffers from patellar valgus pain

Ms. Lu, who is in her early 30s, usually takes health supplements to protect her knee joints. However, due to her work, she often runs up and down different floors in high heels. She has experienced knee pain in the past three months, and the symptoms worsened after climbing Mount Fuji in Japan. She is worried that she has degenerative arthritis and will no longer be able to do her favorite sports such as mountaineering and cycling in the future. Fortunately, she went to the doctor for a check-up a few days ago and found that she has patellar valgus. As long as she receives proper treatment and adjusts her lifestyle habits to protect her knee joints, she can continue to "bravely conquer the world"!

careful! Patellar valgus is a precursor to degenerative arthritis

Zhou Zonghan, attending physician of the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Ren'ai Branch of Taipei Municipal United Hospital, said that patellar valgus is a precursor to degenerative arthritis. Patients usually have pain in the front edge of the knee but are unable to point out the exact location of the pain. Instead, they feel obvious discomfort in the knee when squatting, kneeling, climbing stairs, or standing up after sitting for a long time. Severe patellar valgus can cause knee pain to the point of being unable to walk.

Symptoms of patellar valgus often occur in the patellofemoral joint, due to friction between the cartilage between the femur and the patella on the femoral groove, causing symptoms such as inflammation and pain. The patellofemoral groove is formed by the two condyles (medial condyle and lateral condyle) at the end of the femur.

Wearing high heels will cause the body's center of gravity to lean forward, which can easily cause the patella to deviate outward.

Knee pain! Four risk groups for patellar valgus

Generally speaking, people who are prone to patellar valgus are generally in the following situations:

1. Women: Women are born with wider pelvic cavities, and the angle between the thigh bone and the calf bone is relatively large. Generally, it is about 14 degrees for men, but 17 degrees for women. The larger the angle, the kneecap is more likely to deviate to the outside.

2. Intense exercise: Regularly engaging in intense exercise such as playing basketball, running, badminton, tennis, cycling, etc., which requires sudden forward movement and jumping, and repeated bending and straightening of the knees, can easily make the symptoms of patellar valgus more obvious. In severe cases, it can also cause cartilage softening and cause inflammatory symptoms.

3. Frequent wearing of high heels: Wearing high heels will cause the body's center of gravity to tilt forward, causing the direction of the combined force of the quadriceps femoris that pulls the patella to point outward. The angle formed by this combined force direction is medically called the "Q angle". The larger the Q angle, the easier it is for the patella to deviate outward.

4. Others: Knee trauma or car accidents that damage the medial patellar ligament, weak or tight quadriceps muscles in the thigh, and high position of the patella may also cause patellar valgus.

To prevent patellofemoral valgus, train the quadriceps more often

Whether it is patellar valgus or degenerative arthritis, Chinese medicine can relieve inflammatory symptoms through acupuncture, but the fundamental way is to train the quadriceps, especially the "internal oblique muscle". Chinese medicine practitioner Zhou Zonghan explained that the "quadriceps" is a general term for the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis and vastus medialis. If the internal oblique muscles are trained to be stronger, it can achieve the effect of pulling the kneecap back in the long run.

Fortunately, in most clinical cases, patellar valgus is not too severe. As long as the patient is properly treated and regularly performs quadriceps muscle strength training, there is usually a good improvement effect. Quadriceps muscle strength training can also be done at home. The patient chooses a chair that is reliable, sturdy and does not slide. Lift one foot to a horizontal position, hold it still for 5 to 10 seconds, then put it down. Repeat the same action 50 to 100 times a day.

Patellar valgus is a precursor to degenerative arthritis, and patients usually experience pain at the front edge of the knee.

In addition, you also need to pay attention to your daily life, especially reducing the number of times you go up and down the stairs. When going up and down stairs, the force borne by the patellar surface can reach 7 to 9 times the body weight, so it should be avoided as much as possible. Otherwise, you should take each step carefully, one step at a time. Half squat and full squat activities are also not advisable. During daily activities, you can use taping and knee pads to enhance protection.

【Tips】

If people find symptoms of patellar valgus, they should seek medical treatment as soon as possible. If not handled properly, the wear of the knee cartilage will become more and more serious. Once all the cartilage is worn away and bone rubs against bone, it will turn into patellofemoral degenerative arthritis, which is not only more uncomfortable but also more difficult to treat.