Orthopod figured my knee injury was a meniscus tear until he got the MRI. No tears on the MRI in the Menisci (95% accurate). He said it showed chodromalacia in all three compartments of the knee. He described it as thinning of the cartilage from wear and tear. Suggested limiting impact sports as much as possible. I asked him about wakeboarding and he said it wasn't a good idea. Stuck me on some NSAID's and Glucosamine and re-check in 2 months. He said the glucosamine would slow the thinning/damage but not restore it. Even talked about possibility of knee replacement being a good possiblity way way down the road. Ugh! how depressing. Any other chondromalacia sufferers out there?

Sorry to hear it Bob. I don't have knee problems but I have Labrum Tears in each shoulder and I blew my eardrum so bad that the doc. isn't sure if the graft is going to even attach. That means ear infection every time I go wakeboarding. What about lifting. Would strengthening your legs help take some of the impact. That and I hear The Marius lands really soft. Seriously though best of luck and there is always wakeskating.

Bob, I am doing Physical Therapy and am having Orthotics built for Chondromalacia of my right knee. I am also taking Voltarin prior to workouts. Seems to help. I just started this a couple of weeks ago, but already have very significant improvement. The physical therapy is strenuous, similar to a rigorous pre skiing conditioning regimen. I would recommend giving P.T. a try.

Bob. There can be many causes for chodromalacia. Most often it is caused from an imbalance in the quads. Without specific training the outside of your leg will always be stronger that the inside. As your quads contract to extend the knee or to stop sudden flexion (as with landing on a wakeboard) the stronger outside muscles overpower the weaker inside }}

Wow. I got cut off. Anyway, this causes poor tracking of the knee cap and this chondro is the end result. P.T. is a good idea as long as your therapist understands this concept.

I got scoped on one knee for chondromalacia, three bone spurs and a small tear to the meniscus back in Spring 2000. The surgery helped me return to most of my recreational sports with little or no limitations. My surgeon and therapist recommended lower body workouts with lighter weights/high reps (limited range of motion) and stretching. I also take 1500mg of glucosamine and 1200mg chondroitin as a daily supplement for my joints. I take Aleve for the days with excessive joint pain and before a day on the water. Good luck to you...

Chad~ I just recovered from a blown ear drum....I used these ear plugs to keep water out while it was healing, and didn't get an infection, (even though my over cautious doctor warned heavily against it) here's a link, they are cheap and work well. <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.proplugs.com/index.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.proplugs.com/index.shtml</a>

Thanks, I've been using those wax earplugs but they would keep falling out. Hopefully the surgery will be a success cause if not i'm gonna be wearing a swimmers cap over ear plugs to keep the water out. Can you still hear w/ the pro plugs, with the wax ear plugs, not being able to hear would mess up my rythm a bit. Again thanx for the link andrea.

Hey Chad, go see an audiologist and get a pair of custom earmolds made. You can get them in any color or color combination you want and you don't have to wear a swim cap or head band to keep them in. Get a bright color cause they float and if one popped out you'd be able to find it in the water. If anyone rides with a waterproof ipod, you can even get the custom waterproof plugs that will connect to your ipod earbuds. Just bring the earbuds in when you see the audiologist.

Bob, I'll mention that to the doc. next visit. I'm gonna put the L. Tunes on the Xmas list, but yeah i'm gonna have some sort of eardrum protection from now on that's for sure. Thanks Bob and Andrea for the advice and best of luck to ya Bob on the knee. Hope everything works out.