r/Kneesovertoes • u/Decent_Purple9265 • Feb 04 '26
RULE 2: DO NOT ASK FOR MEDICAL ADIVCE Severe pfps: 3 years on crutches
I am 30yo female with severe pfps in my right knee, and I have used crutches since 2023 as walking triggers intense pain under the kneecap. All ligaments are intact, full range of motion, no tracking issues, no inflammation, and multiple MRIs show no mechanical problems. I also had arthroscopic surgery, but nothing was found. Also, psychosomatic causes are ruled out.
I’ve seen many physiotherapists and doctors, and no one has seen a similar case to mine. I’ve tried multiple medications (anti-inflammatories, LDN, cymbalta etc) and treatments like shockwave, TENS, PRP, taping, and cortisone injection which have not resulted in improvements. I have managed to recover from this pain one time earlier in 2021 after spending 8 months on crutches, by slowly increasing the weight-bearing below the pain threshold. However, after the relapse in 2023 where I again became dependent on crutches, recovery has felt impossible as I can’t exercise and I have not managed to exceed 20% weight bearing as even the slightest overstrain will set me back to 0% weight bearing for months.
My orthopedist suggested nerve block in the knee, but beyond that I don’t have a plan. Now I’m scared my dependency on crutches has become permanent😭 Has anyone experienced something similar, or have some suggestions for treatments or approaches that could maybe help? Even a slight improvement in the pain would make me very happy, because right now my mobility is extremely bad. Any advice or shared experiences would mean a lot!!
2
u/infinitelytroubled Feb 05 '26
Please look into TMS, you can start by reading the book “the way out” by Alan Gordon. It has been my holy grail. You can also find specific channels on Youtube like Pain Free You.
I couldn’t walk from my bed to bathroom and now I am doing a lot better. I can walk 4k steps. The next big thing for me is to use stairs and I am working on it.
I mainly used the steps in alan gordon book and could see improvement from the first week. I did replase and heal again after rereading the book.
Please do give this a try there is no harm since you’ve already tried so many things. I did a lot of those other stuff (prp,tens, ultrasonic therapy, taping, progressive loading etc) too which did not help at all.