[Anterior knee pain syndrome: a historical review].

Anterior knee pain is a frequent musculoskeletal complaint affecting adolescent population with incidence of 36% in 14 years old schoolchildren. Until late sixties anterior knee pain used to be associated with chondromalacia. This review discusses etiology and treatment of anterior knee pain. Various etiologic theories exist ranging from trauma and patellar maltracking to retinacular nerves injury. None of these theories has been generally accepted and etiology of patellofemoral pain remains unclear.