Guys ive gotten a bad case of patellofemoral pain. It started with running stairs and doing back tucks which really stress the top portion of the squat. then landing the tucks really hurt. Actually i think its the tucks that are causing the pain. I only have one more week of doing them. But i started wearing knee sleeves to try to increase joint temperature. Oh my god did that make it worse. Im guessing the sleeves caused my patella to grind into my femur even more. Ive since started taking glucosamine and chondroitin, hydrolyzed collagen, ive been icing daily, and really stretching good. It hurts so bad that i cant sit for any periods of time and it wakes me up at night. Is there anything else i can do?
Get on a coarse of anti-inflammatories. Isolate the VM by doing some straight leg raises with the foot turned outward (can be done sitting at a desk at work, or whever).
Goldberg a couple of years ago I went through the same type of injury you describe caused by the same things as well (especially tumbling exercises). The partner stunting you do probably also has a lot to do with it as the dip down before the explosion puts a lot of stress on the knees. If you can’t get complete rest then at least try to back off when you can…maybe cut leg training for a few weeks and when possible ice 10-15 minutes after activity as well as performing a good overall warm up and stretching the quadriceps and hamstrings should go a long way if you can get enough rest for healing. I wouldn’t advise the anti-inflammatories as they will just cover up the pain and you’re likely to injure yourself even more. If you can find an active release practitioner in your area the investment is very well worth it.
A word to the wise…not all patello-femoral pain is equal. Especially with stair runners and long-time squatters, the cartilage in the femoral notch behind the patella can become worn resulting in a chondral defect. The cartilage on the femur is only about 4 mm thick compared to the patella which is about 7 mm thick so the femur wears quickly. If you develop a feeling of fullness in the joint or tightness with passive knee flexion, get it checked by an orthopod ASAP. Otherwise, avoid painful/irritating activities, RICE it (without the compression), and stretch hamstrings, adductors, calves, and rectus femoris (painfree). The vastus medialis weakness theory is rare in reasonably healthy athletic people.
Goldberg, if it hurts - don’t do it. Find some
exercise that doesn’t hurt. Seriously, you are risking chronic problems if not worse
(how well do you know what causes the pain - have you seen a doc/chiro/vet? - just kidding:)). I know we all have heard that ad nauseam, we all know better… and still most of us end up having this pain in the shoulder/back/knee that never seems to go away… Sorry to sound like a smartass. Are you preparing for a contest or something…
I stopped doing tucks for about three weeks right before thanksgiving. The pain went away and only resurfaced when riding for extended periods of time. I will be taking a significant period of time off after saturday. The UCA National Championship is Saturday and ive already told our coach that after nationals im not doing any more tucks until we compete again(march). Im fairly good at tucks so i dont require much practice. Nothing else hurts as long as i am warmed up. If im not warmed up everything hurts. If im not warmed up i can barely move. But when im warm everything is great. Things will slow down considerably after this week. Im hoping some rest will do me good.
Considering it’s only a couple of days you could try some aspirin or ibuprofen. Lot of athletes do that (in particular runners). And of course - Good Luck at the Nationals!