3/4/2023 0 Comments Medial pica syndrome![]() Most often plica syndrome is precipitated by a history of blunt trauma to the front of the knee or prolonged strenuous exercise. Routine labs are not beneficial to diagnose plica syndrome, but can help to identify other potential causes of knee pain. An MRI may show the plica on certain views, but is primarily useful to exclude bone bruises, meniscus tears, ligament injuries, and cartilage defects that can also cause similar pain and swelling of the knee joint. There may be tenderness in the region of the plica or medial femoral condyle where the plica is abrading the bone. Usually there are no “mechanical symptoms” of locking or catching with a plica, but a sense of snapping or catching from a large plica can rarely occur. Athletes will typically complain of discomfort along the front or inside of the knee. Plica syndrome is a difficult diagnosis in athletes, and is often made after “exclusion” of other common, structural causes of knee pain. Usually, no other symptoms other than pain is present, but it can occasionally be accompanied by swelling of the knee after prolonged physical activity. Usually the pain is associated with bending of the knee and is irritated after and during exercise. Usually plica syndrome is characterized by pain near the anteromedial (in front and toward the midline) side of patella (kneecap). It has been likened to the appendix, which can be a source of pain but lacks significant important functions. The plica is considered a “vestigial” structure, which means that it has lost its ability to function over time and does not functionally affect an individual whether it is present or absent. The “plica” is due to remnant embryological tissue that compartmentalizes the knee during fetal development. ![]() Plica syndrome is often characterized by anterior knee pain, which is most commonly found along the superomedial aspect of the knee.
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