Can anyone who has had patellar tendonitis give me advice?

Hausisse1
Hausisse1 Posts: 165 Member
edited November 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
The pain is no longer excruciating, but it is there. I've stopped doing most leg exercises except for glute bridges and calf raises, which dont bother them. The only time they hurt anymorr is when I try to do things like squats, deadlifts, lunges, and the pain is improving.

All the same, are there any other leg exercises I can do that won't bother the knee? What about stretches or rehab exercises? Yes I have googled it, but I would like to hear from some folks with first hand experiences.

Replies

  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    There are two parts to treating an injury: one is calming down the symptoms and the other is rehabilitation.

    If the tendinitis is acute, it is sometimes necessary to start with complete rest and treatment.

    You can also start with exercises and see how that works--it won't necessarily injure more, just might delay full recovery.

    Current thinking is to focus on the glutes and hips for patello-femoral issues. In the past, there was also a lot of focus on strengthening the quads, esp the Vastus medialis oblique (VMO). In the past (i.e. 25 yrs ago), I had a lot of success with the latter approach. I have used modified versions of both (glute/hips and quads) with clients with success as well.

    This is a good overview IMO:

    https://runnersconnect.net/patellar-tendonitis-running/
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    I had patellar tendonitis from running. In my case, it was a case of doing too much too fast and racing all of my training runs as a newer runner. I had decent cardiovascular capacity from other exercises, but no leg conditioning. Icing and slowing down my training runs to more appropriate paces let it slowly heal. Now I run 5 times more mileage a week after appropriately building mileage, but do not have any issues.

    Have you been to a doctor for diagnosis so you are positive that is what you have? In my case, the doctor did a quick x-ray to look at the cartilage/joint spacing before determining that was what I had.

    I your case, it sounds like it was caused by lifting, not running?
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
    Your doctor diagnosed you with patellar tendonitis, but didn't give you any exercises to do, advise on what not to do, or refer you to physical therapy? Did you see an orthopedist? You have to address the underlying cause (overuse, muscle imbalances weak glutes, weak hips, etc.) or it's going to keep coming back. I think you need to go back to your doctor, if you saw one, or see a different doctor. Anyway, to answer your question:

    Here's a print out of exercises and stretched my doctor gave me when I had a really bad tendonitis flare up from antibiotics a couple of years after my original diagnosis and PT: docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/08484c_47be39d553fe493aa39d798d7443d5c0.pdf

    Prior to that, I did physical therapy for 6 months with included:
    • Glute, hip, and IT stretches
    • Core strengthening - mainly different plank variations
    • Glute bridges
    • Clams with a resistance band
    • Monster walks with a resistance band
    • Standing leg extensions with a resistance band
    • Calf raises
    • Single leg press
    • Single leg balance exercises
    • Wall squats with a ball
    • Various types of squats and single leg squats
    • Step ups
    • Lunges

    Pilates (reformer more so than mat classes) incorporate a lot of the exercises without aggravating my tendonitis, and I wish I had started taking reformer classes sooner.
  • Rchin4thestarz
    Rchin4thestarz Posts: 13 Member
    Speaking from a newbie standpoint but one who has had serious issues over the years due to patella and knee dislocations.... If there is still pain post injury .... I would be consulting with a Orthopedic if you've not done so already..... I can tell you to do x but a medical professional may say no way till a scan is done as you can worsen a injury that you think is minor... Just a thought.... I was doing great last year till I dislocated my knee, 8 weeks no gym it threw me into a spin where I am now just getting back into a mental mindset that walking is a good thing.. Listen to your body don't try to over due is my message (and talk with your doc if the pain persists)...
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
    Did your doctor diagnose this, or did you self diagnose using Google? If the doctor didn't diagnose this, get thee to a physician! Then get thee to a PT or orthopedist. Do not mess about with knee issues on your own. Knees are very tricky devices subject to a lot of different stresses from simply being a poorly designed joint, to having a whole bunch of really huge muscles messing about with it all the time. Knees are not a quick fix. They take persistence and consistency. Get on the professionally designed program and you will haveThe best results and the best long-term outcome.
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