Knee pain due to UC

It is already 9 months that I am having knee pain in both knees.
It all started after 4 or 5 days of strenuous hiking in the mountains last summer. I had MRIs and consultations with various orthopedic surgeons, who told me there is nothing wrong with ligaments, meniscus or bones, and just diagnosed me with patello-femoral pain syndrome, which basically means they don't know where the pain is coming from, and chondromalacia patellae, i.e. softening of the cartilage behind the kneecap (not osteoarthritis...yet...).

I have then started physical therapy for a few months, but it is not helping. My pain is present more or less all day long since then and it feels like a burning on the inner side of the knees, or sometimes like a dull bony ache. It gets worse after prolonged sitting and with strenuous activity like cycling or running, which anyway I stopped.

I am now wondering if UC may be a contributing factor in this persistent pain. I know that enteropathic joint pain is a common extra-intestinal side effect of UC, but can it be diagnosed and differentiated from other types of joint pain?

Also, I have never had any swelling and the pain is unrelated to UC symptoms and activity, whereas I read that generally joint pain due to UC appears during flares and it mostly affects small joints (not sure about this though).

How would you describe the joint pain due to UC? Does the joint swell and feel hot?
Do doctors prescribe specific medications for it, other than the UC ones?

Arthritis as an extra-intestinal complication of uc can be related or unrelated to flares, can involve small or big joints.

Peripheral arthritis usually affects the large joints of the arms and legs.

www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org/resources/arthritis.html

I had MRIs and consultations with various orthopedic surgeons, who told me there is nothing wrong with ligaments, meniscus or bones, and just diagnosed me with patello-femoral pain syndrome, which basically means they don't know where the pain is coming from

I went through this (doctors, scans, etc) about 10 years ago. When a surgeon cannot find a reason to operate he must be believed . At that time I was playing tennis and going to the gym and my left knee hinge just quit working with pain telling me something was wrong.

First an acupuncturist fixed it and I continued with tennis/gym. Now 10 years later it happened again with no physical reason (I don't play sports/go to gym) and physical therapy fixed it.

Is it a UC issue or a common overuse of muscles (you said you hiked strenuously).
I feel it's an inflammation/overuse issue unrelated to UC except that it is inflammation.
I do my own physical t. at home to fix my knee.
My non-UC spouse has worse ligament issues than me so it's a common human condition.

Be careful of overdoing oral supplements that could hurt your gut (as you discovered about curcumin).
Think about gentle yoga and/or homebrew PT.
And be careful about which yoga class, some are unsafe for beginners.
I went to a Pilates mat class (all levels) and was in pain for 2 weeks (abdominals).

Yep, this is one of my most irritating UC symptoms, knee pain. It's on and off, and very unpredictable. Sometimes it'll be in my left knee for weeks, sometimes it'll be in BOTH knees for days, sometimes it's not there at all...

When I was flaring REALLY bad I had the pain in my hands, my elbows, my wrists, my FEET. It was terrible.

All I can really recommend (After seeing so many specialists and trying so much medication) is a copper fit stretchy knee brace. It helps. My doctor put me on Celebrex and that crap is the devil.

Yeeeep! It's certainly no fun. - Have you tried CBD oil or anything like that? They have CBD balms, too...

I like the tinctures, personally.

Since NSAIDs are contraindicated with UC, is there any anti-inflammatory medication that can be used for joint pain? What about steroids?

Steroid shots used to be popular for joint pain, but now the use has been limited because are known to damage cartilage, ligaments and all the soft tissues. I am wondering if a course of oral steroids can be used instead of NSAIDs.

I would try topical meds before doing pred.
You could try celebrex for 2 weeks. Put out a question for feedback on it.

A friend of mine has a combo of cyclobenzapirine 2% gabapentin 5%, ketoprofen (or ketolorac...her rx only states keto), and lidocaine 2% in a base of versapro.
I don't have her experience in it yet....but seems a good option.

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I missed out stating it's compounded prescription.
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I have no idea, and possibly.....i use Voltaren 8% on occasion with no issues.
If it's an isolated area and can be used directly rather than systemically, it's worth a try....but the keto med can be nixed from the combo. I talked with my friend and she's elated with the results.

From what I understand....steroid injections can eventually cause damage, but it might depend on the what area it's injected into.

A fast 2 week taper from 60 - 0 could be of help.

You could try cannabis salve.

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