I was diagnosed as having Patella Tendonitis 15 months ago by a consultant here in Saudi Arabia. I was given a steroid injection followed by 12 sessions of physio. I restarted training after some 3 months and was okay about 5 months when the problem re-occured. I carried on running which didn't seem to bad but eventually the pain got unbearable, walking up and down stairs was the very painful.
I stopped running and went back to see the consultant who gave me a second steroid injection and 12 sessions of physio again. This time it was only 1
week before the pain came back. I again carried on running and still am today some 3 weeks since re-starting running.
I am now worried I may have to give up running which I love and cannot imagine my life without running.
The consultant told me to run every other day and forget competive running, needless to say I have not taken his advice.
I really do want to have another steroid injection as I think it is not working for me.
I normally run 50 miles a week which includes 2 track sessions, 1 steady run,3 easy runs and a long run.
Can anyone help me please.
Roy
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The problem is that the tendonitis is being cleared up each time it re-occurs, but has the physio corrected the cause of the tendonitis in the first place. If the cause is not irradicated then it will keep re-occuring.
Tendonitis of the patella in my case occured as a results of patellar femoral syndrome. This occured in my case due to pronation, quadricep muscle imbalance, one leg shorter than the other and weaker SI joint stability muscles on my right.
I would find a physio that can properly instruct you on your biomechanics to ensure that you a running properly and don't need orthotics. They may give you exercises to strengthen the weaker side to rebalance.
Please get it sorted properly else you will keep struggling as I have also.
Went to physio, spent money on shoes, nothing really worked, untill I tried barefoot / forefoot running.
Instead of landing on the heel with the foot out in front, I started landing on the forefoot with the foot under my body, knee bent.
This helped out big time.. I still have some pain, but its nothing like what I used to have, and I think its due to my form still not quite right.
Have a look at www.runningbarefoot.org, and www.posetech.com.
Try going for a wee run in bare feet, making sure you land on the balls of your feet, knees bent, letting your calfs and the arch of the feet absorb the impact ( and also release that impact energy again, as the foot goes behind you ).
You need shorter strides, dont land with the feet out in front of you.. thats heel strike material. Land with the feet under your body.
The problem with running this way is that you need to run barefoot ( which is actually really nice on most surfaces ), or find some 'racing flats', ones WITHOUT cushioning, and WITHOUT the wedge shaped heel, and WITHOUT all that pronation control and all the other crap. This is because landing on the ball of the foot requires room under your heel for your calf and foot arch to act as suspension spring, absorbing the energy and releasing it again.
I havent been to see any specialists, as I am worried it might cost hundreds of pounds for treatment. If I go to my GP again she will probably just tell me stop running again which I really dont want to do. Anyone know what I should do?
My wife Louise has had this problem for a couple of years, she wears a knee support which was recomended by our Phsyio, if she runs without it she get pain. But with it she can run and did the FLM last year (Second time), the support works y lifting the patella and somehow it aleviates the rubbing. She still gets some discomfort, but it is a workaround. But like Gav said you may want to get the route of the problem sorted as well.
Best of Luck.
Nick.
Knee is particularly bad this week, so no cycling OR running, and apart from a rigid stretching regime I'm bored out of my brains and stuffing myself with food!!
What a laugh.
The straps I used are about an inch wide around the back with a wider, padded panel that rests over the patellar tendon. Made of neoprene with velcro fastenings. Don't be tempted by the "Cho Pat" strap - it's for a different condition called Chondromalacia - flaking of the under surface of the patella.
As a (now non-practicing) osteopath, I agree with the other forumites who say fix the musculo-skeletal imbalances first, particularly the quads, to maintain good tracking of the patella but sometimes a bit of outside help is worth it. I know why the strapping helps. I've no idea how the titanium works but it did for me, and I'm a confirmed cynic and sceptic.
here's a good patella tendonitis rehab program i've come across. i've been doing knee dips for about four months now and my knee's much better these days. think i'll move onto using weights soon.
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When not running I did find road cycling a good alternative, but you do need to allow at least three times the time you would spend on a run.
I intend to try a couple of trail/off road runs this summer, probably up to 8 miles in duration (so fingers crossed!)
I was about to buy a "Cho Pat" strap, as it appears on many web sites for patella tendinitis, but will now hold fire following Susan's advice. The titanium tape looks interesting, I think I'll give that a go, but I'm still confused about the plethora of knee supports/straps that are available.
Cho-Pat worked for me. If anyone wants to buy a Large for £5 (I am med and bought a large buy mistake) let me know.
personally i'm wondering whether changing to a midfoot strike will help my knees and running in general. typically i've managed to injure my foot now so that's my number 1 injury. my knee didn't twinge at all when running this morning so that's pleasing.
Is it now time to include strapping my knee? which is what I have avoided up to now. I'm really concerned as of many of you with this problem - will it now effect my running always?