Chondromalacia patellae

Chondromalacia patellae is a multifactorial disease primarily characterized by knee pain. It is a condition where the patella tilts laterally or subluxates, causing the cartilage on the medial surface of the patella to impact the lateral femoral condyle trochlea. This leads to a series of pathological changes, including excessive wear of the cartilage in the lateral joint space, shedding of chondrocytes, osteophyte formation, and joint space narrowing, which in turn manifest as various clinical symptoms. This disease has a slow onset and can occur at any age, but it is more common in athletes and middle-aged and elderly women.