patellar tendonitis

skeegan

Hi: I have had this condition in my right knee for about 6 months. I play club football (soccer), cycle and swim. For the past few months I have not done any cycling or running. I have seen numerous physios/specialists - some good, some not so good.

I have noticed some improvement (I think) in the last few weeks and hope to be back playing football soon. I am not sure why the improvement has occurred but I have a couple of ideas:

1) Doing some exercises. Similar to those at: http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/patellar-tendon.html

2) Taking glucosamine sulphate (1500 mg daily)

3) Not cycling/running.

Has anybody else experienced this problem? Can anybody make any other suggestions as to how I might resolve it?

DrIndy

It is best resolved under the guidance of a physio/medical team - ideally you should find a sports medicine specialist as physiotherapy is a broad discipline and there are many subspecialities.

Be wary of internet information as it may not always be accurate (although a great resource). The website you refer to does indeed reference journals for their information, but only a qualified professional can make a true diagnosis. It is important to know if you have been diagnosed with this by a physio/GP?

skeegan

yes, I have been diagnosed with this condition. One of the physios thought it was chondromalacia (a similar condition) but 3 others have deemed it to be tendonitis. I have been swimming alot to try to maintain fitness but I am eager to restart cycling/running. Does anybody know of any other appropriate exercises or of anything else that I might try?

Reyman

I had something similar to this injury a good few years ago. Diagnosed as
possibly 'chondromalacia'. Also called 'movie goers' knee - a prolonged spell of bent knee causes pain.
I was never too convinced of this diagnosis and the symptoms sound very like the tendinitis you describe.

I'm pretty sure the problem was caused by cycling and in particular using too high a gear going uphill hence stressing the knee.

I can't offer any good news - it took me about two years to shake off this injury and certainly any kind of running, cycling or squatting worsened things. Exercises didn't work but taking it easy and resting the leg did - eventually. It cured itself largely though i am careful with my shoes - if you have slightly flattish feet as most guys have - be careful you get good supporting shoes to avoid any mis-tracking of the knee when walking or running.

skeegan

Reyman: could you tell me:

1) Can you run/cycle without discomort now?
2) Although you have said that the exercises you did were not very effective, could you tell me which ones you tried?

Reyman

skeegan wrote:

Reyman: could you tell me:

1) Can you run/cycle without discomort now?
2) Although you have said that the exercises you did were not very effective, could you tell me which ones you tried?

1) No problem with running or cycling whatsoever. Can run at any speed with no ill effects and do all sports easily
If I bend the knee at an extreme angle under pressure eg. very deep prolonged squatting can still get some niggling pain, but i'm not worried about this.
2) The main exercise I was given was straightening of the leg against resistance (while seated) in the last 10-15 degrees of movement. This to strenghten the vastus medialis muscle just above the inside of the knee.
I was told not to strengthen the quadriceps under any circumstances in the full range of motion because this would misalign the tracking of the knee.
The other advice was to get good supporting running shoes which would prevent the knee from moving inwards and again mistracking.

This was all 7 or 8 years ago and maybe the physios are better now, so I don't try to maintain I'm an expert on this.

Anyway as I mentioned rest was the only thing that worked and eventually gentle running - stopping immediately if there's the slightest pain. Have you found rest working? Or have the exercises been useful?