Patella Tendonitis

[Terminator]

The doc says I've got patella tendonitis. Dull pain in my left knee. I've had a cortizone jab, but that doesn't last too long. I'm training for the sani and joberg2c, so can't afford time off the bike.

 

Any ideas on the cause, and remedy for this. Is bike setup a possible cause? I've ridden for many years, and have never had bike setup issues before.

 

The only thing that relieves it seems to be an ice pack. Anti-inflams don't appear to make any difference at all.  

[Dirtbreath]

This the same thing that caused Andrew Mclean to pull out of Sabie X?

[CAAD4]

Herman your'e riding too much. Rather be like a lot of us and train less, have worse times and happy knees....

[Terminator]

If thats so, i hope he can give me some advice!

[Ha Ha Kieran]

Terminator book yourself a fitting with Specialised BG guys. They do full assessments of knee and join movements and will set the bike up, as well as your shoes so that the travelling motion of your knees is straightened out, reducing pressure on the tendons  I went for it and it made such a difference! PM Summit Cycles he'll know who to put you in touch with

[Terminator]

Thanks Kieran, will do that.

[Micky P]

I've had tendonitis for a while in both patella tendons, the pain varies at different times, and cycling seems to be the only sport that I can do properly...

 

 

 

Do you run at all or play other sports?

 

 

 

Causes vary from really tight hamstrings (cycling can cause this) so important to stretch properly, and often from the patellar not tracking properly (weakened leg stabilising muscles can cause this) ... which basically means it moves to much from side to side while riding or running causing the tendon to strain more than it should and hence the tendonitis.

 

 

 

I recently did a 900km tour (albeit quite slowly) and used some new strapping. The brand I had is called Leukotape K and is a new form of strapping called Kinesio taping or NEURO-PROPRIOCEPTIVE TAPING...

 

 

 

Anyways you should be able to get it from a physio and they should be able to show you how to strap your knees for Patellar tendonitis... It really seemed to help me a lot!! it might be worth a shot...

 

 

 

here is an example of what it looks like: http://www.kinesiotaping.com/legs.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Slipstream Sean]

Headlines: 'Terminater pulls out of battle due to knee pain'

 

No seriously, I feel for you, I've been there and in many ways still am. It's a chronic injury, i.e. develops over time from overuse. In my case it came from playing too much touch rugby and more particularly squash. The constant jarring causes the patella tendon to become inflamed resulting in patellafemoral pain. You cant get rid of it completely, but you can certainly learn to live with it.

 

Here's what I'd recomend:

1. Rest for 3-4 weeks(swim/rowing to keep fitness up, give knees rest)

2. Climb back on bike, make sure the saddle isn't too low as this can be the cause of patellafemoral pain on a bike, spin easier gears i.e. train to increase cadence gradually. But slowly return to your usual training dont just jump back into it, u'll need to do more base training again.

3. Stretch after exercise...calves, hamstrings, quads, glutes.

4. Physiotherapy can help stimulate bloodflow, but one of the reasons this injury doesn't really heal is because there is no bloodflow accross the front of the knee.

 

I partly started cycling as a strengthening method for my patella tendonitis, then I got seriously hook on the sport. But cycling has healed my knee pain to a large degree. I never get pain from cycling, if I have pain I cycle to get rid of it. My knees are worse in the off season...go figure!

 

So keep resting(when inflamed), keep stretching, keep strengthening and most importantly keep fit. Google patellafemoral pain syndrome.

 

Good luck 

 

[Gravity]

i dont know if i have the same thing,but my knees have given me endless trouble,mainly on stairs, and jogging on the flats/downhill - uphill it is fine

And on a bike it only really hurts when i am giving power when i am seated. I have been to Physio, and an orthopedic surgeon (xrays, MRi found nothing but a "bone Bruise" what a freaky experience tho)

Eventually i just got sick of the pain (i think my doctors were wasting my time) and i started supplementing with a combo of Arthro Guard & Devils Claw (i use the joint select one with added Glucosamine,Boswellia and Turmeric) and i do seated leg presses to try strengthen the Quads overall as i think there is an imbalance. It has made a HUGE improvement within a month.

[Terminator]

Thanks all. I come from a triathlon background and eventually stopped running because of knee pain. And Slipstream Sean, I also played a lot of squash which hurt my knees like hell eventually.

Micky P, I have had my knee strapped with that same tape, but found that although there was initially slight relief, it didn't last.

I'm bad at stretching, and will have to work on that.

Gravity: what is the commercial name of the supplement you are taking? Is it called "Arthro Guard & Devils Claw"   I'm ready to try anything.

Thanks again.

[Gravity]

The one is Arthro Guard, and i am stacking it with Joint Select: Devils Claw,

costs about R225 for a months supply of both.

Good luck.

 

[Slipstream Sean]

Arthro Ease is the generic I think...or an alternative product, both claim to stimulate the repairing of cartilage, which is ground away by the incorrect tracking of the patella. These supplements never worked for me...but everybody is different.

 

Dont get into a habit of taking everything under the sun that claims it can help you...natural means...your body adapts to things, give it time and treat it well and it'll repair itself.

 

[THE BODY CENTRE]

The doc says I've got patella tendonitis. Dull pain in my left knee.  

 

 

is you pain IN your knee - or on the front where the patella tendon lies?

 

but you've got some good advice here - do that (revision of) setup first of all, especially now that you need to do more miles.

[Terminator]

Ronelle: The pain is below the patella where the tendon lies. I say its a dull pain because i cannot pinpoint it exactly. There is no sharp pain at any specific point.

 

Another thing i'd like to know is what are the long term affects of carrying on training and icing for relief? I'm in a competitive (for vets!) pairing for both sani and joberg, and am reluctant to lose the base i've got.

[Ha Ha Kieran]

Terminator like I said, the biggest immediate improvement you will have is the set up and insoles the Specialised guys fit you with  It'll make training bearable again  I started cycling in September just to complete 94.7 as a result the bug has bitten hard! But so did the pain in my knees. (Both knees been operated on twice from rugby injuries) as well as ligament damage. The fitment has allowed me to train 4 - 5 hard hours in the saddle with no 'unusual' discomfort

[Slipstream Sean]

Terminator I would do the races...you wont do any more damage as all that can happen is the tendon can become inflamed...that's all. Bear in mind that it may get to a point where it is too painful to continue, then you might be wishing you never started it and began the healing process. But if I were in your situation I'd also do the race, and once it's over then seriously begin the healing process.