Patellar tendonitis = can't squat / press /etc

[Tri Girl]

I have patellar tendonitis in BOTH knees (marathon runner & triathlete).

Today I was doing a leg workout which included squats and leg presses, but the pain in both knees was such that I had to cut the workout short. The thing is, strong quads help alleviate the problem of patellar tendonitis, but the p.t. keeps me from doing some of those exercises! It's a catch 22.

Any suggestions for training, avoiding more injury, etc?

Race season is coming up, training is in full swing, and I can't let this get in my way.

Thanks

 

[big4life]

Is your therapist one who works with athletes on a regular basis? I know several who work with just rehabbing the average non-athlete from injury and their approach is always more cautious than the ones who work with athletes.

You're right about needing to strengthen the quads to help the patella tendon.

What is he/she doing to treat you?

 

[coolcolj]

I would do stepups and bulgarian splisquats instead for rehab

 

[supreme]

Did your P.T. check the aligmnet of your pelvis?? You may have a lower crossed and or pronation distortion syndrome which can lead to patellar tedonitis.

How is the tightness of your I.T band?? are your quads evenly developed incomparison to the VMO?? how is your hamstring strength & flex?? Low back flex?

All of these things need to be checked and made sure the are balanced. If there is an anterior rotation on the pelvis (common in women runners), the the femurs naturally internally roatate pulling the patella out of aligment. Can also occur if IT band is too tight or external hip rotators weak & adductor too tight.

I train several marathoners & these things are quite common, many times you need to look not where the pain is but what is the cause of it. Treat the source, not the symptom.

Get a new P.T. that is also a strength & conditioning specialist

S

 

[Nico Cujo]

I used to have it bad in both knees. Try stretching and applying ice after your workouts.

 

[delldell2]

Did your P.T. check the aligmnet of your pelvis?? You may have a lower crossed and or pronation distortion syndrome which can lead to patellar tedonitis.

How is the tightness of your I.T band?? are your quads evenly developed incomparison to the VMO?? how is your hamstring strength & flex?? Low back flex?

All of these things need to be checked and made sure the are balanced. If there is an anterior rotation on the pelvis (common in women runners), the the femurs naturally internally roatate pulling the patella out of aligment. Can also occur if IT band is too tight or external hip rotators weak & adductor too tight.

I train several marathoners & these things are quite common, many times you need to look not where the pain is but what is the cause of it. Treat the source, not the symptom.

Get a new P.T. that is also a strength & conditioning specialist

S

What's anterior rotation of the pelvis? And how can I check if my IT band is tight.

The reason I'm asking is my VMO and hamstrings are fine, but my knees point inwards some and it aggravates my knees. I think it starts from my hip. Something is weak up there. I also have lordosis.

What would your recommend?

 

[Tri Girl]

d'oh. I caused some serious confusion. My abbreviation of p.t. was for Patellar Tendonitis, not Physical Therapist. :|

Supreme - I have not had such things checked, however, I do see a chiropractor who is always adjusting my pelvis so I'd assume that my "alignment" is off. IT Band is alright, I stretch that out as much as possible. Without a therapist, how can I check the other things you mentioned? My hamstring flexibility is awesome... at least I think it's good that I can pretty much lay my elbows on the floor when I touch my toes. My hip adductors always feel tight, no matter how much I stretch.

CoolColJ - what are splisquats and how do I do them?

 

[delldell2]

split squats are lunges, without moving your back leg. just up and down, no step. Bulgarian ssq are where you put your back leg up on a bench and go up and down.
For step-ups, do peterson step-ups. Look it up on google. Basically the bench is behind you, and step up with your heel up at first.

 

[BodybuildingUniverse]

Man I JUST read a good article in Outside on this. They recommended low energy shock wave therapy for these type of injuries. Sounds strange but ask your doc. Most athletes were back running with no pain after 3 treatments. Hope this helps.

 

[big4life]

d'oh. I caused some serious confusion. My abbreviation of p.t. was for Patellar Tendonitis, not Physical Therapist. :|

That's cool, I get confused easy.


Since you're not seeing a physical therapist, you might want to look into one. Like I said, find one who specializes in working with athletes. They will be able to come up with different things that might help, and things that might be contributing to your problem.

Good luck.