This is my first post to slow twitch and I apologize for being so long. Bottom line is that I would like to hear about people's experiences with patellar tendinopathy and hip issues.
I'm 41 years old, with a history of doing triathlons in my early 20s and running seven marathons over the last 15 years in times around 3:05. I'd like to switch back to doing triathlons, with the goal of doing a half IM next year and full IM in the next 3-5 years. I also want to make it to my golden years healthy and happy.
History: Back in August 2019, I was training for California international Marathon at 60 to 70 miles a week and developed patellar tendinopathy in my right knee. I kept pushing through with physical therapy and in the process developed left gluteal medius pain.
I took time off after the marathon for periods of anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months doing no running, just swimming. I tried switching up to biking for two months too, putting in a few 200 plus mile weeks. That aggravated the patellar tendon more and I think I developed a loose body in my right knee at that time too. In between, I tried to ramp back up, going up to about 40 miles a week and still had some odd sensations in my patellar tendon, mostly a hollow feeling and pinpoint tenderness. The glute would bother me on and off. Mostly a dull achy sensation on longer runs and pinpoint tenderness on the iliac crest.
Throughout all of this and to this day, I still have pinpoint tenderness just under the medial anterior part of my patella and right at the top of my iliac crest.
I've seen I saw two different physical therapists and a sports medicine doc. They tried tons of PT, diclofenac (NSAID), and topical nitroglycerin on the knee. The NSAID and nitroglycerin which made things feel better while I was on it but did not resolve the issue. I'm convinced that no ammount of PT will fix this, so I'm giving up on this. I've been told by both PTs that I have no strength or flexibliity issues.
I recently saw a knee specialist who said he could remove the loose body whenever it bothers me enough, but his advice was to 'get on living'. He did not think more physical therapy or treatments were necessary. He also said that I could try some more aggressive surgeries to correct some issues with patellar tracking.
I've become a bit obsessive about all of this, checking whether or not the sensations are there and thinking that this is never going to resolve. I think that some of this pain is psychological and leaving things alone will help.
I started running and biking again, along with swimming. I have some minor sensations when I'm running in my knee and once in awhile in my hip.
At this point, I think I'm just going to have to live with these two injuries for some time as tendon issues take a long time to resolve. I'm under no illusion that there is a miracle cure out there for me.
I'm curious to hear what other people's experiences have been.
Im going through something similar right now. Its frustrating, I hurt it in late july, and im just getting back now. My knees were aching for the 200m of a 14k run workout, but i did not think anything of it as i usually feel something at the start of eery run. The next day i could hardly walk down the stairs. I took 3 weeks completely off, and it did not seem to get any better.
So i starting doing some light cycling, and physio. Look up the alfredson protocol, it helped me. It is just an eccentric strengthening program. I was also prescribed Taro-Diclofenac, and i dont think it helps at all, I found voltaren to help alot more. Lastly id recommend getting a knee strap, it helps take some load off your patella tendon.
Hopefully this helps, those are just things. that have helped me
I'm 38 years old and have experienced similar issues with my left knee over the years. Onset of pain was pretty rapid - happened during a run one afternoon and just never went away. That was in 2014 and, over the years, I attempted several bouts of rest and physical therapy, with no noticeable improvements. Instead, I simply "managed" the injury. Since I'm active duty military and can't completely forego the activities that illicit pain, the injury slowly progressed to the point where I now have a torn meniscus. I'm scheduled to have an arthroscopic debridement this week.
I don't like the idea of surgical intervention and have been dragging my feet on this decision for quite a while now. I'm still not completely convinced that it's the right approach, but I feel that the alternative would be maintaining the status quo, which I don't believe is sustainable. Anyhow, I'm hoping that when my surgeon is addressing the meniscus, he'll be able to take a look around and address anything else that's going on within the joint, as I suspect my injury to be a combination of factors, some of which may be improved by surgical intervention.
I empathize with you regarding the phycological aspect of these injuries. That may be the single greatest motivation for me to proceed with surgery...I just feel like I have to take some decisive action and try something else. I'll let you know how it goes, if you're interested.
I happen to have the same issue when I did over-training for Olympic lifting. As I remember, I literally tortured my quadriceps for doing more and heavier front squats and clean - jerk movement and as a result, you know... huh I just followed the same path you wrote. Tons of NSAIDs, and Ptherapies but nothing worked.
But one day, I saw this video, I followed his instruction and did this exercises every night on my bed. after doing this for 2 consecutive months, Voila! I became free. I just cried to be so happy.
The key points are 1. reinforcing weak muscles 2. stretching shortened muscles Stay home, stay healthy.