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Conditions›Musculoskeletal conditions›Cartilage disorders›Chondromalacia

Chondromalacia

Chondromalacia describes injury, destruction or abnormal appearance of cartilage within a joint. Chondromalacia is most commonly described in the knee (Chondromalacia Patellae) and is usually the result of irritation or inflammation in the joint that has the cartilage to become eroded.

Dr. Keegan Duchicelareviewed this

family medicine 16 years experience

How long it usually lasts:

Chronic (lasts years to lifelong)

How common is it?

	Extremely rare	Very rare	Rare	Common	Very common
Preteen6-13				Common
Teenager14-18					Very common
Young adult19-40					Very common
Middle-aged adult41-60					Very common

How it can usually be treated?

Can be cured with medical treatment

How is it usually diagnosed?

Requires diagnosis by a medical professional

Symptoms

Medications

Ratings show how effective doctors think these medications are at treating Chondromalacia

Procedures

Ratings show how effective doctors think these procedures are at treating Chondromalacia

Surgery

Cortisone injections

Other treatments

Physical therapy

Related questions

A 47-year-old member asked:

Can you explain chondromalacia?

2 doctor answers8 doctors weighed in

A 37-year-old member asked:

Can yo explain chondromalacia ?

1 doctor answer1 doctor weighed in

A 37-year-old member asked:

Is it possible to cure chondromalacia?

1 doctor answer2 doctors weighed in

A 42-year-old member asked:

What are chondromalacia and patellafemoral syndrome?

2 doctor answers2 doctors weighed in

A 46-year-old member asked:

How long does it take to recover from chondromalacia?

1 doctor answer1 doctor weighed in

A 33-year-old member asked:

How do chondromalacia and patellafemoral syndrome differ?

3 doctor answers3 doctors weighed in

A 39-year-old member asked:

What kind of exercise do you recommend for someone with chondromalacia?

1 doctor answer3 doctors weighed in

A 42-year-old female asked:

Does chondromalacia take a long time to develop or can it be caused by a sudden impact?

1 doctor answer4 doctors weighed in

A 34-year-old member asked:

Diagnosed with chondromalacia recently and am wondering how life would be like from now on?

1 doctor answer2 doctors weighed in

A 19-year-old female asked:

Sometimes I slack on my PT exercises for chondromalacia. It leads to a bad flare and takes longer to strengthen. What damage am I doing? How bad?

1 doctor answer2 doctors weighed in

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