A common cause of knee pain is when the kneecap “tracks” too far toward the lateral side of the leg. This causes abnormal friction, and if not corrected, can lead to a form of arthritis called chondromalacia patella.
Why does this aberrant tracking of the kneecap happen?
Every time you activate your quads (quadriceps)--the muscles in the front of your thigh--the kneecap moves up & down, because the kneecap lies embedded in the tendon of the quadriceps muscles. With contraction / relaxation of the quads, the kneecap “tracks” in a groove on the tibia, underneath it.
The outer (lateral) parts of the quadriceps often become dominant, pulling the kneecap laterally, causing it to rub abnormally against the tibial groove. Pain and eventual arthritis are the results.
I correct this with specific adjustments with the Activator instrument, and give the patient exercises to balance the quadriceps & eliminate the abnormal dominance.
