left patellar tendinitis - Squat replacement?

[hobbes01721]

So I was just diagnosed with left patella tendinitis, not terribly crippling, but I can't do squats. I'm okay with just resting, but the doctor mentioned substitution exercises, although I'm not sure what those are. She said the PT person could help, but my appt with them isn't until late next week.

Any suggestions for squat replacement exercise(s)?

[Spiceygamble]

Did the doctor give you a Chopat strap?
As I understand it, many patellar injuries can be greatly relieved by using these devices to relieve stresses on the knee area.

[honez]

A lot of the time patella tedonitis is due to lack of flexibility in the ankle and that is from tightness in the calf complex and lack of strength in your anterior tibialis (shin muscle).
Concentrate on stretching your calves out and doing reverse calf raises for the shins. Don't simply alleviate the symptoms, fix the cause!

[hobbes01721]

spiceygamble - No, she didn't give me one, I work in that office and I know we don't stock most of those things, thanks to legal constraints, if we do we have to declare ourselves as a medical warehouse, and it's just a small office. I'm going to PT next week so they might give me one

honez- my calves are pretty strong, I played hockey for 3 years and I run/sprint almost daily, but you never know, my quads could be a lot stronger. I'll try it out, I do try to stretch every morning, but ha ha that doesn't always happen. You're very right, it's always better to just fix what's causing the problem.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely have to look into those.

[honez]

spiceygamble - No, she didn't give me one, I work in that office and I know we don't stock most of those things, thanks to legal constraints, if we do we have to declare ourselves as a medical warehouse, and it's just a small office. I'm going to PT next week so they might give me one

honez- my calves are pretty strong, I played hockey for 3 years and I run/sprint almost daily, but you never know, my quads could be a lot stronger. I'll try it out, I do try to stretch every morning, but ha ha that doesn't always happen. You're very right, it's always better to just fix what's causing the problem.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll definitely have to look into those.

The muscle can be very strong but it matters what's going on internally.

http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=475832

Read this article and foam roll out your calves. If a foam roller doesn't hurt that much, use a PVC pipe....I've yet to have a client who hasn't had tight calves. It works wonders on the knees man!