I have been suffering with some Patella Tendonitis for the past 2 month, and honestly I figured it would of been going by now. It started as a small pain while squatting below 90 degrees and then in a matter of days it become a much more serious condition. I’ve seen an Ortho who prescribed PT and if the pain continues a cortisone injection. I’m hesitant to have a cortisone injection due to the risk of rupture or further damage to the tendon. I realize they do work and have had one on my elbow with some regret.
I fairly flexible and stretch before and after each workout, my quads are always a bit tight, which may be part of the issue.
My trainer is from eastern Europe and he mentioned that I should try a somewhat different approach of Traumeel and Acovegin injections. Personally it sounds like black magic and doping to me. I did some research on the topic and it seems like a a ton of pro athletes have used these controversial meds to supplement their rehab. It’s still unclear what the exact protocol for treatment with these. Also most of the research tends to point to muscle injuries and not tendon.
I’m 40 years old and pretty sure that my athletic days are numbered if not already over.
What was your training like, 3 months ago? What were you doing that lead up to this?
How is your squat? Do you use a super narrow stance with lots of forward knee drift?
What rehab exercises have you been doing?
When my legs were at their weakest, my knees/patalles hurt all the time. I had so little muscle, my body tried to “bounce” like using my patella “jump” through the motion instead of driving the squat with my leg muscles.
I did lots of Peterson Step Ups, Terminal Knee Extensions, Step Ups and Lunges to try to train my thighs and knees to work right.
My glutes and hamstrings needed work too.
I’m Olympic Weightlifter so my squats are always ATG. My toes always point a bit out but the knees always track over the toes while sqauting. I’ve had various physio expert evalute my sqaut in the past an none of them called out any issues, other than breathing a bit more. I do light banded leg curls and eccentric one leg sqauts. My thought is that it’s not the sqauts but the ballistic movements associated with Oly. One thing I have not tried is reverse sled pulls. I weight about 185lbs with 9% bf and my 1 rep max is 150Kg 340lbs.
Reverse sled pulls can feel real nice on the quads and around the knees specifically.
Forward drags can be cool too. Each step drives your hips forward, like when you hump the bar for that second pull.
Regarding the ballistic movements; do you feel like it’s the “catch”? Maybe you’re using your knees/patalles to “catch” the weight, instead of “squatting under.”
Or that its more in the extension? Maybe the hips aren’t coming through all the way or something.
9% body fat? Maybe you just need some fish oil and fats in your diet to lube up those knees.
40 years old? Maybe switch to power-style, or split style like the old school guys, instead of the squat style of lifting.