The International Patellofemoral Study Group (www.ipsg.org) and Orthopaedic Surgeons, in general, no longer use the term to describe a clinical (office) diagnosis. Quite simply, the term means "soft cartilage" and can only be used when directly inspecting the cartilage either in an open or arthroscopic manner or as viewed on an MRI or CT arthrogram. In the past, the term was applied quite freely and inaccurately to any pain in the front aspect of the knee. In fact, the amount of cartilage softening does not correlate with symptoms. Therefore, the term as a clinical diagnosis is for historical purposes only. The current goal is to identify the anatomic source of pain and to use that in the formation of a specific diagnosis. The most common form of pain in the region of the patella is muscular and soft tissue imbalance for the desired level of activity: imbalance patellofemoral pain.