Patella Tendonitis - Any recurring injury and nothing is working

comer_97

I've had patella tendonitus (or so I am told) for about 7 or 8 months now. I have completely stopped running and have done all exercises and stretches that my physios have suggested and I have gone from having a slight twinge after 12 miles (this happened once) to not being able to run at all, or cycle, and have an almost constant twinge if not pain in my knee.

I have more details in my blog

I would like to know if anyone has had similar experiences, and should i now be looking for a different route, such as having an MRI, going to a consultant or is there something more I can do?

any advice would be great as I'm getting really disheartened at this stage.

saml1

am sorry to hear that - and i can sympathise - i think i have something similar - tho i think its quad tendinitis cos it more above my knee. is not easy to diagnose or fix, neither resting it nor using it does anything much. there are days when i can fly up/down stairs with relative ease and other days I'm crippled with it - it flares up with a burning pain and i'm left hobbling about.
ice/rest and anti-inflam (ibuprofen) help when its pain but I'm a bit fed up with it at this stage after 6 months. going to go back to the doc, not sure what an MRI would do to help in my case. i have a slight clicking in the joint so there moght be something up with the
my plan is to try stretches and natural anti inflammatory treatment (rather than taking painkillers so often) and avoid sports which involve spurts of running and twisting/impacting the knee joint. as its stands I'm not sure what else would help
hope you're better and back running soon

thewing

Welcome to my hell

I have it as well, and it's a killer - after 3-4 days of cardio work(running/footie/squash) I can barely walk generally.I have started wearing pattellar straps which do give good pain relief while goin about your activity but once they come off the pain is there.

I had an MRI and went to two consultants in a private clinic and both said they were reluctant to operate(if I had been a centre for ireland possibly different) - I was told to 'soldier' on and take anti-inflamms

I found that havin strong quads is the best pain relief - I haven't done any leg weights in a while and the pain is getting steadily worse - you find you are reluctant to do any exercise(hence my expanding waistline)...

Anyway let us know how you go

Oh yeah, an MRI won't do anything, and is useless unless the specialist needs it for clarification of the damage(and he is willing to operate).Finding out if you have patellar tendonitis or jumper's knee as it is commonly known is easy enough through the symptoms

comer_97

I've done yoga and i do stretches for my quads, hamstrings and calves every night as directed. I did some yoga classes. I've spent a fortune on physios and physical therapists.

I've worn the patella strap but it seems to irritate the tuberosity on the top of my shin where the tendon connects to the shin.

I used to have very strong quads but because I've had to stop training they have atrophied somewhat. Now the physio tells me that this lack of muscle could be causing the exact same pain i came to her with!

I just heard today about arnica oil as an anti-inflamatory

Odd...

thewing

TBH, it sounds like you've tried everything I have(and more - never brave enough to go in the yoga classes with all the women!)

Arnica - maybe, but you still have the pain once it wears off

Specialists will prob give you same spiel I got - don't want to operate, but if they do 1 in 3 chance of being unsuccessful, leaving you with the possibility of not having full range of motion in your knee joint - the basicially split the tendon and reattach it to the top of your shin - if too tight then it pulls down on your knee cap not giving you the full swing

America?I dunno....I've just accepted it at this stage.

mattym

Hi Comer, i know its an old thread but i am having the same problem as you described. Have been told by physio that i have patella tendonitis and is recommending orthotics. Just wondering how you are now a year on? Any advice?? Cheers,

Matt

slingerz

mattym wrote: »

Hi Comer, i know its an old thread but i am having the same problem as you described. Have been told by physio that i have patella tendonitis and is recommending orthotics. Just wondering how you are now a year on? Any advice?? Cheers,

Matt

I'm an inflammation of this after breaking my tibia and fibula and the physio says its as a result of the degredation of my quad muscles so i have to build them back up trouble is i think they strong enough as it. it wasnt there after my first op on my leg only after the second op 3 weeks ago has it been at me

frisbeeface

I too had this quite badly earlier this year. Rest, ice, etc had very little effect. It took two months of hitting the gym 4-5 times a week, strengthening quads, glutes and core before I could run pain-free again. Alas, after taking it easy for the last six weeks, it's starting to flare up again when I run. back to the gym again...

matrixroyal

Muscular imbalance can be a factor.

In my case I had gone all out on the quads but neglected the hamstrings, so try to focus on the getting that balance in correct proportion ( a physio could help with this ), orthotics might help as well.

sunnyjim

My knees are the same as a few of you guys - running, cycling, lifting and swimming are fine - its walking that really hurts.

I moved from using machines in the gym to doing the big 3 - deadlifts, squats and bench. The 1st 2 really helped, although they slowed me down running wise. It's a worthwhile trade off unless you are into serious distances of running or cycling.

BossArky

You can get this from doing squats incorrectly do. A lot of newbs (myself included when I started squatting) don't go down to parallel which means that your quads are taking more of the strain, thus pulling the knee cap up a bit.

If you engage the hamstrings and glutes by getting down to parallel or below you can cancel out the pull on the quads.

The_Devil

I was diagnosed with the above also...I spent weeks going to physio being told it was muscle imbalance ets and just got the same old story from my GP (Difine). The pain just never got any better. If i didnt train i had no pain at all but once i did any type of jogging/running i was in bits after about 15/20mins.

After deciding nothing was working I decided to get a professional to look at it. I went to the Sports Surgery Clinic in santry and straight away the Doctor sent me for an MRI. Turns out I have had a tear the length of my tendon. I dont know how long its been torn but according to my doctor its a "significant tear".

he could not understand why the physio did ot refer me for a 2nd opinion, easy money I suppose.But now I hav 2 options:

1: Cortozone Injections
2: Surgery

I have researched both options and it seems neither are recommended. Can anybody let me know if they had anything similar or if they have had the injections or the surgery. Need to make up my mind in the next fortnight.

Cheers.

comer_97

I heard surgery is not a good option from my surgeon, that's really confidence inspiring.

I had an MRI and nothing showed up. So I have pain, and swelling with a perfectly good knee )

The_Devil

Where did you go to get it checked out?

Mr.Messy

Well Comer 97, I know this is an old post but i'm sure you may still be suffering in some way with this injury.
Patellar tendonitis can be caused by a number of factors. However, research suggests that this injury is primarily caused by mis-alignement of the patellar (Knee cap). This is caused by weakness in the quadricepts inparticular the Vastus Medialus Obliquus muscle (VMO) located just above your knee on the inner leg area.
Treatment involves
- Rest from leg impact activities such as running etc... that require the knee to act beyond 45degrees of flextion. (Bending).
- A flextion range of 0-30degrees is ideal (Swimming) in strenghtening the tendon without furthering the intense pain of normal activity. It will reduce grating of the pateller on the femer bone which if ignored can cause a condition called Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome.
- Consistent icing for 10-20 minutes directly after activity will decrease inflimation and grating.
- Avoid Cortisone injections as they destroy muscle and ligament tissue that cannot be rebuilt by the body. It will only make the injured area weaker though its use in the treatment of Bursitis (Cartilage and bone grinding) shows it is effective in short term pain relief. Avoid Cortison!
- Strenghtening of the VMO involves squat, lunge and knees extension exercises. In the initial stages knee extension exercises using 'Terra-Bands or some sort of friendly flexible material' will allow you to comfortably develop the VMO without furthering your knee symptoms.
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome requires similar treatment.

timo87

it's an absolute dose!

have been sufferring with it for over a year. have all but given up playing hurling over it, constantly had to pull out and take nights off and coaches wondering why I couldn't just "go away and get it sorted". felt like a whinger and hate dropping out.


been told it stemmed from my quads weakening after i tore cartiladge before but i've done plenty core work and quad excersises in the mean time. it's a bit of a vicous cycle though, can't train properly with the pain so invaribly lose shape.

Ice it and use a patelllar strap for training but am sick to death of it at this stage, can't seem to shake it.

has anyone had any luck with orthotics as a solution?

p.s sorry didn't realise thread was so old!

the drifter

This thread is from 2007 im sure the OP is fine now

Please dont dig up old threads

Thanks