patella tendonitis/tendinopathy

[anabolicanth]

hi guys i have had patella tendonitis for around 3 months, which has prevented me from training legs. it originally occured from doing front squats and i continued to squat for a couple of weeks after the initial injury (which wasnt smart). i am currently doing stretching and massage to try and strengthen and repair the tendon along with some heat and ice application but so far i havent seen too much success, i realise it wont work overnight but i am young and keen to start squatting again and playing gridiron. my questions is: has anyone here had the injury and been able to recover from it, and if so how? any advice would be helpful.
thankyou

 

[Epolis13]

Have you seen a doctor yet? Tendonitis is usually healed via complete rest. It takes a decent amount of time. Months, usually. I'd go see a doc if you haven't already.

 

[kjetil1234]

over or under the kneecap? Usually subpatellar tendinopathy is due to anterior position of the calf bone (tibia). Weak hamstrings and rectus femoris could be the cause of it, as it'll overwork the quads and thus pull the tibia anteriorly, gradually increasing the tension of the patellar tendon.

 

[anabolicanth]

Have you seen a doctor yet? Tendonitis is usually healed via complete rest. It takes a decent amount of time. Months, usually. I'd go see a doc if you haven't already.

yeah i have, ive rested for around 3 months and am trying to do light stretching, massage and exercise. its improved from its initial condition but theres still swelling and its still tender, i guess ill just have to continue to be patient. really annoying injury. thanks though

 

[anabolicanth]

over or under the kneecap? Usually subpatellar tendinopathy is due to anterior position of the calf bone (tibia). Weak hamstrings and rectus femoris could be the cause of it, as it'll overwork the quads and thus pull the tibia anteriorly, gradually increasing the tension of the patellar tendon.

mine is under the kneecap and i feel like it resulted from my knee stretching over my foot when front squatting, which puts more force on the tendon. i think my hamstrings are pretty strong overall but they may have contributed to the injury i guess. im just hoping it heals soon haha

 

[Epolis13]

yeah i have, ive rested for around 3 months and am trying to do light stretching, massage and exercise. its improved from its initial condition but theres still swelling and its still tender, i guess ill just have to continue to be patient. really annoying injury. thanks though

Oof, sorry to hear that, man. It sounds like you're doing all the right things in terms of resting it and trying to rehab it. If it persists, you might wanna go back to make sure something isn't torn. Not sure if your doc did any sort of imaging on you at your initial visit. Just keep an eye on it. Hope you get better ASAP, these nagging injuries are a drag.

 

[anabolicanth]

Oof, sorry to hear that, man. It sounds like you're doing all the right things in terms of resting it and trying to rehab it. If it persists, you might wanna go back to make sure something isn't torn. Not sure if your doc did any sort of imaging on you at your initial visit. Just keep an eye on it. Hope you get better ASAP, these nagging injuries are a drag.

yeah im trying my best, its just one of those things. i got an ultrasound and xray to make sure there was no structural damage or anything more severe and it just showed the tendonitis as expected. yeah it'll pass eventually hopefully sooner rather than later. i've heard cases in which people have had it for 5+ years.. stuff that haha.

if it doesnt repair soon then i might get platelets which is when they take blood from you then re-inject it into the knee which has a pretty high success rate, but ill wait a little longer first. thanks though, appreciate it.

 

[Epolis13]

That's called PRP, right? I've heard of that before. A few of my powerlifting friends have had that done with great success. Keep us posted.

 

[anabolicanth]

That's called PRP, right? I've heard of that before. A few of my powerlifting friends have had that done with great success. Keep us posted.

unsure of its abbreviation but you're probably right. thats encouraging, ill wait a little longer and then see how i go, thanks will do

 

[NattyForLife]

Here is what you would do at the clinic I work at! Im in PT, so do what im about to tell!

Straight leg raise
Side-lying hip Abduction
SAQ
LAQ
Heel raises
Mini Squats
Seated band hip abduction
Seated ball squeeze

Look all these up and perform each exercise for 5 mins a piece! Dont count reps, but do them for 5 minutes each! Do quality reps!

Also have someone stretch your rectus femoris! Look it up if you dont know how! Do all that and it should get better soon! Also, you can take some Aleve or if you want a superstrong anti-inflammatory drug, look into Mobic. Good luck!

 

[anabolicanth]

Here is what you would do at the clinic I work at! Im in PT, so do what im about to tell!

Straight leg raise
Side-lying hip Abduction
SAQ
LAQ
Heel raises
Mini Squats
Seated band hip abduction
Seated ball squeeze

Look all these up and perform each exercise for 5 mins a piece! Dont count reps, but do them for 5 minutes each! Do quality reps!

Also have someone stretch your rectus femoris! Look it up if you dont know how! Do all that and it should get better soon! Also, you can take some Aleve or if you want a superstrong anti-inflammatory drug, look into Mobic. Good luck!

thanks so much, will definitely look into the exercises and do them. ive been meaning to go to a physio but have had exams. does foam rolling my quadricep and hamstrings bring any benefit aswell? ive been trying that recently? but again thankyou ill keep you posted with how i go.

 

[kjetil1234]

If you have a job where you sit a lot, make sure to not bend the knees more than you need to. It's rarely a 'strong' issue, as it's a habitual issue and motor control issue.

Either way I'd keep working leg curls, strengthen rec fem and sit without excessive knee bend if I were you.

Regarding the rec fem, it's true that it's too tight. Sitting day in day out will often inhibit its function, resulting in a weak, tight nad useless rectus femoris muscle. Combine strengthening with stretching.

 

[anabolicanth]

If you have a job where you sit a lot, make sure to not bend the knees more than you need to. It's rarely a 'strong' issue, as it's a habitual issue and motor control issue.

Either way I'd keep working leg curls, strengthen rec fem and sit without excessive knee bend if I were you.

Regarding the rec fem, it's true that it's too tight. Sitting day in day out will often inhibit its function, resulting in a weak, tight nad useless rectus femoris muscle. Combine strengthening with stretching.

quote yeah will do, everytime i straighten my knee it cracks like crazy. yeah i will thanks, i'd always done weighted leg curls, straight leg deadlifts and squats in the gym for my hamstrings but oh well injuries still happen. thanks for the advice

 

[NattyForLife]

quote yeah will do, everytime i straighten my knee it cracks like crazy. yeah i will thanks, i'd always done weighted leg curls, straight leg deadlifts and squats in the gym for my hamstrings but oh well injuries still happen. thanks for the advice

Cracking could be a sign of meniscus lesions!

 

[anabolicanth]

Cracking could be a sign of meniscus lesions!

interesting thought however i dont think so, my doctor checked that out through tests and i feel no pain in the meniscus, i was given the all clear for that which is good

 

[JZT]

Hey man,
So my name is zach and I'm a senior in highschool right now. I tore my acl in my left knee august of my freshman year right and that took my sorry ass off the gridiron for awhile. I had surgery the summer between fresh and soph year. I started track in February of soph year which was a little too early on my now missing hamstring on my left knee. So I favored my left knee and was doing track practice from 3 to 530 and then doing football from 6 to 9 and I was a sprinter and a receiver so I ran sprints for 6 hours. I continued favoring my left knee. By may I had slight patellar tendinitis in my right knee but I was kicking ass on the field so I kept on grindin. It started to get severe in the end if July. I thought **** it I can deal with the pain. The first week of pads I was returning a kick and I hit one if our defensive lineman, which now going to Fresno and is top 100 in the nation, head up and laid his ass out but I felt a searing pain in my knee. From that point on I only got slower and slower and worse. I ended up not being able to play because my knee would give out. Come to find out I tore my patellar tendon more and more and then finally really tore it good when I hit Q. This was my junior year. Now I couldn't play my senior year and the colleges looking at me turned their backs. Do not take something like this lightly. Take it seriously and rest. 2 to 3 weeks and see how it feel if it still hurt rest more. Not complete rest still participate in activities that don't aggravate it. If you rest it now it won't take as long compared to if you didn't and just made it worse.

 

[jimmyjusa]

Hope things have healed by now, I've got to physical therapists and seen an orthopedist, no real improvement, and nothing that needed surgical intervention so I'm stuck with this nagging pain.