Patellar Tracking Disorder
 

Hey so my brother has got this disorder, basically his kneecap can slide around too much and if he lands or falls the wrong way it really kills, and he was wondering if anybody here has the same problem? If so have you noticed a stance width and angle that helps it?
Cheers

I've had patella tracking issues at times as a runner. There are exercises you can do to help the muscles hold it in place better. I've done these with good results. It's not a constant problem for me. I've never heard of it being a "disorder".

Yeah he went to a physio and got some exercises but he was just wondering for stance option, if there's any ones he should avoid or that would help him

mine slipped out Saturday. Hurts like a *****. curious about stances as well. I'm thinking narrower and pretty parallel.....

Andy what exercises are you doing?

I got the problem. Try a little narrower stance, and DO NOT toe your boots out.

I agree that toe out makes it worse.

I had the issue and it only seemed to be a problem when I was wakeboarding or snowboarding. My kneecap dislocated multiple times, even when wearing the two different braces. The doctor recommended therapy the first few times, but it did not help me. I finally had the surgury and no issues since. (knock on wood). For the surgury they basically detach the bottom of you patella tendon and pull it tighter and reattach. The surgury wasn't bad and the rehab time is much quicker than an ACL.

Do you know if his kneecap is dislocating?

"Try a little narrower stance, and DO NOT toe your boots out. "

Some people will have to ride toes out, or externally rotated, at least slightly. We don't all have the same bio mechanics, and for a lot of people flexibility (or lack of) will also force a ducked out stance. If you try to force your legs into a toes forward position, you might limit your range of motion.

btw, a lot of people have patellar problems from a stretched patella tendon. My trainer used to tape my patella tendon down to tighten it up or reduce the slack. A lot of the damage comes from landing hard on your toes. At least, that's where my pain started. I think they had me doing a lot of knee extension exercises to tighten it up.

Nacho,

The exercises I did were to sit on the floor with your leg straight out. Then, flex your quad and knee muscles. Since my knee cap was outside a bit too far, I had to strengthen the muscle just above and slightly inside the knee cap. Strengthening this pulled the cap back to the inside a bit more. Another good exercise is knee extensions on the weight machine. Not too heavy a weight, one leg at a time.

You need to wear an unloader brace and do PT to build up your quads as much as possible. basically the only treatment. We will rarely perform a patellar realignment surgery unless it is a guys career on the line like a pro athlete.