ITBS/ITBFS & malalignment of the patella

[FindnNemo91]

Thank You sooo much for posting some help for me.
I am 15 years old. I have been playing sports for my whole life, a catcher in softball, and a goalie in hockey. I have been having knee pain for about 8 years now. i have had my share of sprains and strains. currently, i have to wear a brace everyday, because walking is like a chore without it. BTW, i play the flute. I am also trying to find a pt to accept my insurance because i moved to Oregon from Virginia, completly different coasts and my insurance is basically a east coast insurance. i have been denied by 2 pt places and i am looking for someone right now. thanks for the advice. i dont think that i can accomplish my goal in 2 weeks because i leave for canada the saturday after next. i am thinking about buying some crutches to use for the parade and walking around downtown. I am also going to ice my knee while i am not doing anything. I noticed that u asked something like what exactly do u have? I just got back from an os on mon. and he said that i had ITBS/ITBFS (same thing i think, right?) and a malalignment of the patella. he said that everything looks good in the long run and that i dont need surgery. he said that my mri and xrays looked fine. just something inside me is telling me that something is really wrong. I almost buckeled in pain today, and i was crying because of soooo much pain. i just cant seem to find the right thing to do and different docs tell me different things. (srry for the length, i just need to vent) the os said that i can play any sports that i want just not to continue if there is pain, but there is, all the time, and it wont stop. i am only 15. the os told me that i am about done growing, no more than 1 more inch. I am, right now, 5'7 and 1/2" I am sick of not being able to continue doing things that i love. i cant really walk far without pain. i can barely run. again. i am determined to go to the parade, even if i am in a wheelchair or on crutches.

Thank you for writing to me and listening to me complain about this stupid knee of mine.
Jacqui

[FindnNemo91]

I really didnt answer all of ur ?s in the last post so here are some answers. I live in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I dont really know when i started my growth spurt, if at all. I have tried stretching, RICEing, swimming, laying off of it, and not playing any sports for 3 years.
Here is a VERY COMPLETE list of symptoms. (i took them with me to the OS and he loved it)
? clicking on the back
? sharp, stabbing pain 4 inches above knee
? sharp pain right above knee and on the outside
? spasms
? instability
? hit knee hard on edge of table
? pain worsened after hitting it
? feels like something is floating and ?stabbing the bone? (like a needle)
? pain radiates into calf and thigh
? pain in calf is like someone is pinching a tendon or muscle or nerve or something (very painful)
? pain where the femur connects to the shin
? heard pop and grinding sound, some pain
? lump on thigh
? intense pain on outer side of knee
? ankle and foot goes numb sometimes
? really sore after icing
? sore after elevation
? hard walking stairs and down hills
? feels like a needle poking around in my joint (on the inner side) when walking without a brace
? can?t really straighten all the way
? walk straight legged to relieve some pain
? NSAID?S (Lodine, Naproxen, Motrin and Aspirin) doesn?t help
? can?t run more then 2-5 seconds without pain
? wear a brace everyday, can?t really function without a lot of pain without it
? knee brace doesn?t relieve any pain, but provides a feeling of stability
? can?t play any sports
? swimming made the pain worse (no frog kick)
? did straight leg raises everyday (very painful) (20-25, 3 times a day)
? stretched before swimming, from stretches online
? pain and stiffness when bending the knee
? pain wakes me up at night
? interferes with everyday activities like walking, going up stairs, and taking a shower
? can?t stand for more then about 10 minutes without pain
? can?t balance without pain and a little shaking
? Balance weight on right leg so as not to have pain in left
? Can?t ride exercise bike or bike because of ITBFS
? cracking/popping a lot
? knee pain was still present even when quads were strong (during softball and hockey)

I know it is long and i may have written two of the same things. AGAIn, thank you soooooooooooo omuch for ur time.

Jacqui