KNEE TENDONITIS . . is it the problem with that pain in your knee ??

Ima break this down so ANYBODY can understand .  . here we go . .

TENDON: Tough band of fibrous tissue. It’s job = connecting muscles to bones. When you contract a muscle, it pulls on a bone to produce the movement.

TENDONITIS: When a tendon becomes inflamed and the “pulling” of that muscle to bone becomes irritating.

KNEE TENDONITIS: Inflammation of the tendons in the KNEE area.

Easy enough???

TYPES OF KNEE TENDONITIS

1.  Patellar Tendonitis, aka, “Jumpers Knee”: i have this at the moment . . it SUCKS . . BIG TIME !! . .

The patellar tendon is located between the patella (kneecap) and the tibia (shin bone) . . connecting the knee cap to the lower leg.

The quad muscles (upper leg) all insert into the patella, and then into the tibia through the patellar tendon.

COMMON IN: Jumping, training with rapid changes of direction, falling hard on to the knee.

PAIN WILL BE FELT: At the bottom & front of kneecap (especially when pressing on the area, or kneeling).

2. Quadriceps Tendonitis: Affects patellar tendon just ABOVE the kneecap.

COMMON IN: Athletes who use a lot of speed, fast acceleration/deceleration in their training.

PAIN WILL BE FELT: ABOVE the kneecap, especially when you move your knee.

3. Popliteus Tendinitis: This tendon branches out from the back of the thigh bone to the back of the knee, then to the top front of the shin.

It’s job = to keep the lower leg in line with the knee and top of the leg. It connects the two parts of the leg so the lower part does not twist outward.

COMMON IN: Runners, running down hills or along sloping surfaces.

PAIN WILL BE FELT: On the outside of the knee.

HOW DO I KNOW IF I HAVE IT ??

• Stiffness in the knee after training, and when you wake up
• Tender to touch
• Tendon may look larger (swollen) and look bigger than the other side
• Calf Weakness
• Pain when going up and down stairs
• Pain when getting up from a seated position
• Pain at night

HOW DO I GET BETTER ??

1.  REST: until the swelling goes down
2. ICE: 15-20 mins EVERY hour without fail for 24-48 hours, as long as the pain persists. We want that swelling to go down ASAP.
3. BANDAGE: If the pain is strong, bandage your knee (using a cloth, towel, anything you can find). This limits the stress on the knee during movement.

BIGGGGG SOLUTION TO KNEE TENDONITIS = MOBILITY !!

It is VITAL that after you’ve allowed the swelling to go down that you’re keeping that knee in motion. It is NOT going to heal itself . . the pain may go away but what happens when you start exercising again? The pain shows it’s ugly head . . so keep that knee mobile . . we need to strengthen those tendons around the knee.

HOW ??

STANDING QUAD STRETCH

• Stand arms length away from wall, injured leg farthest away from wall
• Keep one hand on the wall for stability
• With other hand, grasp ankle of injured leg and pull heel toward butt
• Hold 15-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

STANDING HAMSTRING STRETCH

• Place heel of injured leg on table/chair, height of about 15 inches
• Keep knee straight
• Lean forward, bending at the hips, straight back, until you feel that stretch in the hamstrings
• Hold 15-30 seconds. Repeat 2-3 times.

STRAIGHT LEG RAISE

• Lie on back with legs straight out in front of you
• Bend knee of uninjured side and place flat on floor.
• Tighten injured leg thigh muscle and lift leg about 8 inches off the floor, holding that contraction in the leg.
• Slowly lower leg back down.
• Perform 3 sets of 10 reps

SIDE-LYING LEG LIFT

• Lye on injured side.
• Tighten and contract that thigh muscle of the injured leg.
• Lift leg 8-10 inches, keeping leg contracted throughout movement.
• Keeping the leg straight out, slowly lower.
• Perform 3 sets of 10 reps

Once you feel that you are able to do the above with NO PAIN, then go on to these exercises:

STEP-UP

• Stand with foot of injured leg on a support (low step) 3-5 inches high.
• Keep other foot flat on floor
• Slowly step up on to the weight with your injured leg, straightening your knee.
• Lower leg back down slowly.
• Perform 3 sets of 10.

BALL WALL SQUAT

• Stand with back, shoulders, and head against a wall, looking straight ahead.
• Keep shoulders relaxed, 2 feet away from wall and shoulder’s width apart
• Place a soccer or basketball-sized ball behind back.
• Keeping back upright, slowly squat down to a 45-degree angle.
• I don’t want you to go down to parallel just yet.
• Hold 45 degree angle for 10 seconds, then slowly slide back up the wall.
• Build up to 3 sets of 10 reps.

DECLINE ECCENTRIC SQUAT

• Stand with both feet on an angled platform.
• Put all of your weight on injured leg and squat down to 45 degree angle.
• Use other leg to help return to standing position (we’re only focusing on the downward portion of this movement).
• When this exercise gets easier, hold weights in your hand.
• Perform 3 sets of 10 reps.

As those tendons around the knee get stronger, you can start to incorporate long stride walking, quarter lunges, deeper squats, and work your way up to full depth movement.

DO NOT do explosive movements until that tendon is back to full strength and you can perform the above exercises without pain . .

it’s going to place WAY too much stress on those tendons, and it’s not ready for that yet.