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athena
04-24-2008, 10:55 AM
Hi,

I'm kind of new to posting here, but I had a question about an injury I am dealing with right now.

I have had knee pain off and on for a couple years, but it got a lot worse when I started increasing my mileage this Fall (running). I ran a marathon at the end of November and then stopped running completely. It didn't get much better, so I went to a doctor in March. I had an MRI, which showed a partial tear of the patellar tendon.

I have been to two orthopedic surgeons about my knee and was prescribed physical therapy. The PT clinic here at school is so busy that the first available appointment was today (I called in March to schedule).

I have been trying to do things at home (lots of icing and fish oil for inflammation - I can't take NSAIDs anymore), but am getting impatient now. I was hoping PT today would help a lot and it did, but I'm a little frustrated about the scheduling issues I've had. The PT did lots of analysis today - watched me run, measured lengths of my legs, tested strength of individual muscles, checked alignment. She was going to tape my knee at the end, but ran out of time. I could not get another appointment for another couple weeks. I think my next is in mid-May.

I'm just wondering if this scheduling delay is normal and if you guys know anything I can do to speed healing on my own? The specialist I saw wanted me in PT twice a week and I'm going maybe once or twice a month tops.

Also, will cycling prolong this injury? I'm assuming I should stay at a low gear and avoid most hills, but anything else to help? I'm also limiting my running to every other day and frequent walk breaks. I'm really desperate to heal this injury!

pinkychique
04-24-2008, 11:13 AM
maybe you could look into going to see a chiropractor in addition to the PT - that way the chiro can look at all your alignments, pop or *crack!* you back into place, and it will help to keep things from getting irritated by things being out of alignment.

also, i've had a lot of luck with acupuncture for a knee injury that i had that was caused by my muscles tightening up and making my alignment going haywire - the acupuncture keeps the muscles loose so that they don't pull everything in the wrong direction.


best of luck getting back on your feet!!!

Zen
04-24-2008, 11:55 AM
Is that particular clinic your only option? They're way overbooked/understaffed.
Try to find another clinic if you can.
In the meantime, if you haven't already researched, take a look at this site-
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/patellar-tendinitis/DS00625/DSECTION=3