Patella Femoral Syndrome/Chrondomalacia Patella?

[autumnpalm]

Hi guys!

This is my first post here and I'm not really sure if it belongs because PFS isn't a very "serious" condition, but I don't know quite where else to put it. I don't want to trivialize any other medical conditions on this board!

I was diagnosed with PFS about three years ago when I had to take almost a year off from dancing due to knee pain. I did a number of months of physiotherapy and was able to return as long as I wore knee braces on both knees. Now I am no longer dancing, and in day to day life I don't have very bad pain. If I know I am going to be walking/standing for extended periods of time, I wear my knee braces and ice my knees once I get home.

Touring Disney includes a LOT of walking and makes my knees very sore. We have to take lots of sitting breaks, I wear my knee braces and I'm planning on bringing some cold packs to chill in the fridge for night time at the resort. Does anyone else have any tips for touring the parks with PFS/Chrondomalacia? I have Advil and anti-inflammatories if I need them as well.

Thanks for reading!

 

[locolala]

The best tip I've gotten here is to get a wheelchair if you need it. I suffer from chronic low back pain from an injury and scoliosis. If I'm on my feet walking too much, I will be in agony. I've decided to get a wheelchair for the days where I'm feeling bad, there's no point in being in pain because it will make my trip miserable. Also, talk to your doc about getting something a little stronger for your trip if you think it might help. I had my doc up my dose of my Tramadol (non-narcotic and AMAZING) for when I'm down there.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILITIES!

I would suggest starting with the disABILIITES FAQs, especially Post #2. You can follow the link in my signature to get there directly.

Basically a person has a certain amount of energy available to them daily. If they relax during the day the amount of energy available will increase; when they sleep at night they recharge their system,

However, when in pain energy is used up much faster than in normal conditions. If you become exhausted, with by what you have done or, more importantly, what you have done while in pain your system will not recharge to the original energy level overnight and you are starting the next day with a lower amount of energy available.

You might pick a location at least a half mile from where she lives and ask her would she like to walk there. If she hesitates, then say "and back", and of she is still not sure then add "at least three times in a row".

Once around the World Showcase Lagoon Promenade is more than 1¼ miles; most people tend to average 8 - 12 miles per day at WDW.

Please then ask yourself the following questions. Here are the suggested answers to go with them.

1. Are you disabled (even temporarily)? Yes.

2. Do the people you are traveling with, such as your family, know you are disabled? Yes.

3. Do you expect to meet anyone you know during this trip who may not know you are disabled. Probably No!

4. Do you expect to meet a bunch of people who you will probably never meet again in your life? Probably yes!

5. Is there any reason at all that you should care what these people think about you? Absolutely No!!

6. Will using a wheelchair or ECV make for a better vacation for you and your family? Absolutely YES!

 

[autumnpalm]

Thank you to both of you!

If I wear my knee braces and do lots of stretching I should be okay without a wheelchair but I will definitely keep it in mind! The thing that's hard is that the pain is kind of unpredictable. I don't want to rent a wheelchair for the week "just in case" and not end up using it... but then I don't want to not be able to get one if my knees get really sore! The one thing that's got me a little bummed is that the knee braces are HOT and I am not looking forward to that part. Oh well, it is worth it!

 

[locolala]

Are you staying onsite? If so, the hotel will have a limited number of manual wheelchairs that you can use, I believe they hold a 300 some odd dollar deposit that only goes in if you don't return the chair. I think thats what we're planning on doing

 

[erincon23]

My son has the same thing. His therapist showed him how to tape his kneecap to pull it back into place -- that made a huge difference (in addition to all the PT, of course), and he does that now only when needed (like when we were at WDW two weeks ago!). If you haven't taped, you may want to ask your therapist if that's something that would help and have her show you how to do it.

I would also bring small ziploc bags -- your cold packs may not stay cold all day, and with the ziplocs, you could get ice almost anywhere when you sit down.

Erin

 

[Disneydonnam]

I have had 20 knee operations. I have chrondomalacia. I understand about pain and needing to sit and take breaks. When we do Disney I bring the lidoderm patches I wear under my brace. I take anti-inflammatories in the am before we leave for the park. I use them the entire time we are on vaca. I also take two glucosamine every morning. At night I use bio-freeze ointment. I don't know with all the walking you do if you have experienced stress fractures. I started getting them about 5 yrs ago always in Disney. Last yr my Dr. had me get the Don Joy brace and it seems to be the best brace I have.

 

[autumnpalm]

Wow, thanks for the responses, everyone!

Erin, that's a great idea about bringing ziplocks for ice packs. I would never have thought of that, but I'm sure it will be really helpful!!

I'm going to look into the biofreeze ointment. Can that be found in drugstores? I've found it online a bunch of places but I don't know that it would get here in time.

Thanks again!

 

[Disneydonnam]

I buy mine at the chiropractors office. I know amazon has it and usually ships quickly. Good Luck.