Knee "Doc" Talk: Patellofemoral or Plica Syndrome?

I just returned from my (personally) long awaited appointment with the orthopaedic specialist, where I had both my right and left knees pushed, pulled, prodded and x-rayed during a roughly hour-and-a-half visit. As I've written about before, I have been experienecing some aching in both of my knees in the last few months, and with the 2006 Colorado's Wild West Relay and other individual races coming up in the late summer/early fall, I wanted to be sure that I would continue to be able to train and compete.

I walked away from today's appointment with two more appointments (one MRI schedueld for tomorrow, and a foolow-up appointment next Tuesday), as well as, (and laong with some internet research) some other info:

1) the initial diagnosis is Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS), or "Runner's Knee." It would seem as though this may be the situation with both my right and left knees. The MRI tomorrow will be taken of my right knee. The doc said that we will proceed with the understanding that the right knee is in worst shae than the left, and that in all likelihood what is happening with the right is also happening with the left. (FYI--"Runner's Knee" occurs when a mistracking kneecap (patella) irritates the femoral groove in which it rests on the thighbone (femur). Another related possibilitity is...

2) Plica Syndrome. A plica is a thin wall of fibrous tissue that are extensions of the synovial capsule of the knee... The plica only becomes a problem when the knee is irritated, causing an inflammation in the synovial sack. When the synovium is inflamed, the area of the plica becomes thicker. This thickened area then begins to catch on the femur as the knee moves. This in turn keeps the plica inflamed resulting in a viscous cycle.

3) After measuring both my right and left thigh, we learned that my left thigh is 1" wider in diameter than my right! The doc suggested that I may be unconsciously favoring my left, and it is therefore more developed. Wierd!

4) My wife may be right (again): while twice as many women as men have PFPS because women tend to have wider hips, resulting in a greater angling of the thighbone to the knee, which puts the kneecap under more stress... this is of interest because although I AM a dude, my wife always says I have oddly wide hips for a guy... uhh... great. This may account for my susceptability to PFPS.

So, where do I go from here? After first getting an MRI tomorrow, I will continue training as usual, at least until I have my follow-up next Tuesday. After my follow-up appointment I'll take it from there!

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!