Hi all, I think I have a slight case of PT. After a game of basketball it is a bit painful to climb stairs, and the pain is at the front part of the knee… according to my internet research these are signs of patellar tendonits… anybody have experience with this? There is no pain even when squatting heavy. Any rehab exercises? gasp! leg extensions?
help!
regds
Jonathan
I have fought with this problem this year also. For myself, I believe that I had a strength imbalance combined with a bad ankle sprain. The sprain is alot better, and I’ve recently added squats back in. I’ve had virtually no knee pain since.
Before I started doing the squats again, I got some help from doing light leg extensions in the top 30% range of motion. I understand it helps the knee to begin tracking properly. Also, chiropractic helped with making sure my legs were properly aligned.
For relief, you might try one of these:
http://www.muellersportsmed.com/kneejumpersstrap.htm
It seemed to help while the problem was really acute.
dont do leg extensions… i had severe pt and what worked for me was peterson step-ups to help recruit the vastus medialis muscle… after about a week the pain had subsided
I had PT and sometime it still occurs. Here are some tips you could try out, they always help me:
-run backwards on soft surfaces! PT is caused by running forward on hard surfaces such as a gym floor, therefore running backwards on let’s say a football field would help!
-strenghten your hamstrings and gluteus! There are several great articles on T-nation that contain some great exercises, such as 12 weeks of pain by Ian King. Also stretch your quadrizeps! PT is caused by a shortened quadrizeps, therefore strenghening the antagonist (hamstring/gluteus) and stretching the the troubled muscle will help!
-proper warm up and quadrizeps stretching before any physical exercise! I know that’s a pain in the ass but it helps!
I hope this is enough for the beginning! Let me know if you want to know more about! I almost call myself an expert on this field! Almost!!!
Hope you get better soon
playgrounder
yup
petersons are the way to go
once you work up to a step about the middle of the calf muscle start ading weight
after that add lunges and step ups
you can continue working your pchain while you hold off the squats…once it feels ok start ass to the grass squat…calf literally touching hamstrings
ART, ART, ART!!!
stetching, new exercises, and rehab work are all fine and dandy, but ART will give you instant release at the source of the pain. they should work your knee, quad, and hip flexor, which will relieve pressure in the kinetic chain which ends, you guessed it, at the patellar tendon!
Hey, there, Cap’n!!!
The patella travels in a path called the trochlear groove. A few of the most common diagnoses associated with tracking problems are: Lateral Facet Syndrome (of Ficat), Anterior Patello-femoral Pain Syndrome, Chondromalacia, Lateral Pressure Syndrome, Malalignment Syndrome, Maltracking Syndrome, and sometimes Patello-femoral Degenerative Arthritis.
Since there are so many possible tracking problems, why not get a professional diagnosis? What would fix one person’s tracking problem might very well aggravate or compound yours, unless your problem is the same as theirs.
Good luck to you. Hope you get a handle on what’s going on so that you can go about fixing your problem.
Yay I feel like I’m not alone…
thanks for all the responses… will giver the petersons a try… unfortunately here in singapore, NO ART!!! Crap, any stretches/massage techniques I can use instead?