While I was in the Navy I served five straight years of sea duty on destroyers. These small ships have many levels and lots of stairs. The boots I wore were standard issue steel toe boots. Over time, going up and down so many stairs every day as well as standing watches which required me to be on my feet for five or six hours at a time, my knees became quite achy. It hurt them to sit for long periods, it hurt when I woke up in the morning. Eventually it hurts just to go up or down stairs. My knees did not keep me from being discharged at the termination of my contract; however, I applied for disability at the VA and was granted 10%. Almost three years later, I still occasionally experience that familiar dull ache behind my kneecaps. Just this morning I awoke to find that my left knee was just not happy with me.

I'm 57, have been dealing with chondromalacia patella for over 20 yrs. Seems common with fibromyalgia. I am still able to be pretty active. I swim at a gym where they keep the water at 86 degrees. I am able to bicycle if I limit the distance and wear Spandex type knee supports. I ice the daylights out of my knees the second I get off the bike, and continue to ice as much as I can throughout the day. I take generic Aleve as needed. I'm seeing a physical therapist for another problem and she noticed my knees. She has shown me how to tape them - it's easy and works well, and has recommended a knee brace that has a hole where the kneecap is, and has a horseshoe shaped support that can be moved to either side of the kneecap. I haven't tried it yet. I do exercises for the muscles around the knees, and because they do impact my knees, I also ice right after those. I change positions frequently when sitting. I've been taking glucosamine sulfate for just over 3 months, with no improvement noted. Sometimes I get depressed and overwhelmed by my pain and limitations, but I will die fighting this before I turn into mush (I hope).

When I was in my 20's my knees started "giving out" on me occasionally without warning and with no pain associated. As the years went by I began hearing a grating noise when walking up or down stairs. Now in my 40's I am experiencing pain, weakness, stiffness as well as very loud grinding and grating. I am not overweight but probably would benefit from strengthening the muscles that support my knee. X-rays show the tell-tell sign (spot) indicating Chondromalacia Patellae as well as little or no space between the bones. I have started taking gluc, but have not seen an improvement yet. I am unable to sit with my legs bent as this produces stiffness and pain. Also, if I walk or stand for long periods of time my legs become so painful and weak that I can barely stand another minute and must sit and rest. I have children and I am a very active person, but this has changed my life. I cannot walk down stairs without holding the stair rail as my knees feel so unstable and I cannot participate in activities with my children the way I would like too. I am hesitant to see a doctor because I have NEVER heard of anyone having successful knee surgery and it usually brings on a slew of other problems!

As a child (8 yrs old) I was told my knee pain was just growing pains. At the age of 27 I was diagnosed with chondromalacia. I am now 45yrs old and the pain is not just isolated to the knees but also affects my hips. I have a desk job, so I sit all day and if I sit too long, when I get up I am stiff and can barely move. Squatting and climbing stairs are difficult. I've put on weight because it's hard to do any exercise, which the extra weight doesn't help the knees. From the age of 8 I've tried it all. The anti-inflammatory drugs, the creams, and heating pads, you name it.

My knee first started hurting somewhat back in '04. I think it was the change from running three times a week to not running at all. Anyway, I went to the doctor eventually and they gave me some Motrin and sent me on my way. A few months later I went back and this time they took X-rays. They still said there was nothing out of the norm and gave me some more Motrin. I went back a few months later and they took more X-rays. Finally, they let me know that I have patellofemoral syndrome. My knee cap moves when I bend my leg and my knee hurts when it is bent for a short period of time. So, I finally got some physical therapy, but was getting nowhere with it. They gave me a brace also to keep my knee cap in place when I exercised. After all of this, my pain got worse one morning when I woke up and it hurt to straighten out my knee. I went to the doctor the other week and they were surprised that my knee cap moved even more and they prescribed me naproxen. They also set me up an appointment with orthopedics for later this week.