Patellar Tendinopathy

[ohthepain]

I have been diagnosed with this and would like to know and/or hear from anybody who's had this or is going through this condition...

the doctor i saw said it could take 2-3 years to return back to normal? i was staggered when i heard that, is this the avg time it usually takes?

from what ive read so far eccentric exercises are the way to go, and the doc has also prescribed me nitrate patches... has anybody had any experiences with these before?

any help would be much appreciated
thank you

[extraultralowbass]

Have done everything.I hope the best for you but nothing works!

4 years into pain and keep going...

[slasher]

I'm going through patella tendonosis on my left knee...Originally started in March of this year after being on crutches for 4 weeks following an arthroscopy on my right ankle...If only I had known what a pain this would be, I would have worn a brace on my left knee or something to stop this from starting.

Any rate once my other ankle started to improve I also started rehabbing my knee, started in about May of this year, I do eccentric exercises twice a day, 6 days per week. It has helped, but it's such a frustrating injury as it seems to take forever to heal up and it has also really limited what I can do.

I am actually going to see Tom Orchard on Friday who is considered an expert in it, hopefully he can give me some treatment/insights that help me take another step forward in recovering.

This injury is probably the most frustrating injury I've ever had, because I could go out and start running and doing sports, but I know that will cause the problem to get worse...

Edit: I also saw another sports doctor that suggested nitrate patches but I have not tried them...I am interested in trying either the autologuous injections or the other type of injections which are supposed to help collegen to heal, however I believe these are now banned in Australia...Sorry I can't remember the name, if you look at the tendonsis presentation on this site it has more info in there.

[BT1981]

Slasher - Do you mean John Orchard? If so he is excellent.

If you are after an excellent physio who specialises in patella tendon injuries David Bick is your man. He works out of North Sydney Sports Medicine.

Yes indeed this is a very frustrating and annoying injury. 3 years in January of bilateral patella tendonosis has almost done my head in!

Apparently this injury does get better. This has taken me to see Jill Cook down in Melbourne (I live an 1.5 hours north of Sydney) recently. She is the tendon guru in Australia and possibly the world. Another 9- 12 months of hard work may see me get over the line.

Good luck with your consultation.

P.S Don't ever consider having an operation for this injury.

[slasher]

Sorry, yes I meant John Orchard. I was supposed to see him today but have had to push my appointment back a couple of weeks.

Can you tell me more about your injury and how David and John were able to help you?

Edit - as for my post above it is Aprotinin injections, apparently John still does these. Autologous is when they take your blood, spin it to seperate it and then inject it back into the tendon, however I have only seen this being done at a knee clinic in the UK.

[BT1981]

Sorry about the late reply......yeh ill give you a quick run down of my injury as i said previously bilateral chronic patella tendonosis. I also had a partial tear in my right tendon. This all started snowboarding in whistler jan 06 and i played my last game of football april 06. Retired from sport/recreational activities age 24 in April 06. Its been a nightmare since! Chronic pain 24/7 on varying levels.

Had surgery on right tendon Aug 06 to repair tear but surgery made the injury 1000 times worse (pain increased 10 fold). Sought second opinion Jan 07 where I consulted John Orchard and he has been treating me since. He also referred me to my physio David Bick. Both strongly agree the surgeon should have never operated.

They both specialise in the injury and try the latest techniques in treating the condition (injections, physio etc). Some people may only need 1 intervention others like myself may need a combination of treatments over a long period of time. Just because something doesn't work for one person doesn't mean it won't work for you.

If you have any specific questions I am more than willing to answer them.

Started a new physio program in oct 08. Strength program for the first 3 months. Right knee has been up and down which suggests now its not a pure tendon problem.

Hopefully 2009 can be my year! Return to sport/recreational activities would be a dream!!!

Looking down the barrel of 4 years with this injury..............

[slasher]

Did you get an aprotinin injection from John Orchard, and if so what sort of response did you get?

[BT1981]

Yes had aprotinin several time as well as autologous blood injection. Minimal if any response. Also had ultrasound guided polidocanol injections on right knee.

I have to loose 15-20kg which i have put on since the injury to help with recovery. This will be pretty hard over the festive season........

[slasher]

That sucks man, you said you think that with some hard work you could make a recovery in the next year, what is your current situation and has it been getting better over time?

What is your current activity level like and are you able to do any exercise? Are swimming and weights ok?

In the grand scheme of things mine is not anywhere near as bad as yours (although you said yourself some of your problems were caused by surgery). My knee has made some noticable improvements over the last couple of weeks which is good.

All I do for it are 3 sets of eccentric drops twice per day with weights in a backpack (up to about 10kg now), 3 days on then a rest day. I also do leg weights once per week, and I stretch a couple of times per week.

My goal is to be pain free and to have a fully functioning tendon so I can return to previous level of activity. My biggest concern is once I make a recovery that I could have this injury flare up again. Hopefully David and John can help me on the last steps to a full recovery and I can keep my knee pain free.

[ohthepain]

i have been using nitrate patches, was told to cut into quarters and apply to tendon. dont really see any improvement as it still hurts when i extend my left leg, i think it only works new tendon injuries as my right leg showed small signs of jumpers knee and i immediately applied the patches and a couple weeks later it is all fine, whereas my left leg has had ongoing pain for a while now..