My patella (kneecap) sometimes likes to dislocate itself. I've been reading online about this injury, and compared to what it could be, I have it good. Sometimes when I plant my left foot, I can feel my kneecap go way off the the outside of my leg then snap back in place. It hurts for a bit, and then swells up a lot. I've done this three times now. The norm seems to be for the knee to be swollen for a few weeks, and then I can start the recovery process.
The first two times I was trying to cut hard to the left while sprinting. They happened my freshman/sophomore years in high school. This most recent time time I was just jogging easily in a straight line.
I've had the MRI's, and the doc says I have very loose tendons for my left patella. I've been doing xc-running and nordic skiing for the past four years with no problems whatsoever, then this comes around again, when I'm putting very little strain on it! I've read about strengthening the quads, specifically the VMO can help stabilize the patella. This brings me to my question: Is anyone else here in this situation? If so, what are you doing about it? I have two years of college left, and don't want to miss any on-season time due to surgery/recovery.