Road Cycling - Patella tendonitis

I have been off the bike for almost 2 mo. with patella tendonitis. I made the mistake of lowering my saddle too much and then riding a hard 50 mi. Pain started at about 40 mi. and had to finish to get home. At this stage am getting better very slowly...can only ride 45 min. +/- flat and slow before some irritation sets in. However I can run 4-5 mi. three times weekly with little neg. effect.
Has anyone else experienced this injury and how did it effect you. I use ice,DMSO,advil, several times daily and am soooo frustrated at the slow recovery....and yes I did raise saddle back up.

rule of thumb, if this is patella tendonitis, is 3-6 months for recovery. Hopefully you are seeing a physical therapist.

Yep, I feel your pain. I seem to be constantly battling overuse injuries. Started with ITBS from hiking down mountains with a 40 lbs pack. Took 6-8 weeks to recover. Next big hike I developed Patella Tendonitis in the opposite knee, another 6 - 8 weeks. At the moment I'm battling another knee problem as yet undiagnosed, the sports medicine doctor reckons it could be the medial meniscus (which I partially tore skiing last winter) or plica syndrome. So, I've been off the bike for a week, another week to go before I ease myself back into it. Lots of ice and anti-inflamatories in between! The key I've found is to keep the quad muscle strong while you're recovering by doing straight leg lifts (no strain on the knee).

You have my sympathy! I might be in the same boat next week if my current problem doesn't resolve!

Hey jkoman,

I've been suffering from patellar tendonitis for almost three years now. The correct term is actually patellar tendinosis/tendinopathy. It's a degenerative condition that will gradually worsen without proper treatment. Do a yahoo or google search with those terms for more info.

Go see an orthopedic surgeon or sports medicine doctor with lots of experience in treating this condition and preferably, someone experienced in working with cyclists.

Until you go see a doc, make sure your saddle is as high as comfortably possible. Do lots of hamstring and quad stretching, several times a day (4-6). Going to a sports oriented physiotherapist is a good idea too. They will tell you to stretch and give you some strengthening exercises. Eventually you'll do eccentric strengthening exercises as well.

Running seems to be the only thing that keeps my knee pain from worsening.

Two months with no improvement is too long. Do not treat this yourself. You may end up like me. Every step I've taken for the last couple of years has caused me pain. I'm likely heading for surgery and a long recovery with no gurantees of significant improvement.

kermit

PS - E-mail me if you want more info or the like. bossdag at hotmail dot com

Loads of Vit C (Connective tissue strengthener)
Glucosamine Sulphate 1500 mg per day
Chondrotin Sulphate 1500 mg per day

Stay away from NSAID's (Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) as they are detrimental to cartliage so while they stop the pain they are actually making the condition worse. Also taken over a long period of time they can imapir hearing.

Do a search on Glucosamine Sulphate.

There is also a product called MCHC it is derived from young cow bones (They use you cows as their bodeis have had less exposure to toxins like heavy metals)

In clinical tests it was shown to reverse osteo arthritis in post menopausal alcoholic women (which means its bloody marvelous) I have had my 7 yr Rottie on it for a while and in the last year he hasnt limped once, compared to monthly before the supplentation.


Hope this helps

Si