Jumper's Knee/ Patellar Tendonitis

[Trey19]

Has anyone here gone from suffering from Jumper's knee to successfully curing it and would like to share their story of how they got rid of it. I actually suffered from jumper's knee for years but I loved the game of basketball so much that I had a hard time resting my knees for longer than a few weeks which is why I was never able to completely get rid of it until after a few years.

Anyone had success with supplements, treatments, surgeries, I'm just very curious about jumper's knee and how people have dealt with it.

[jmmainvi]

If you suffer from jumpers knee, you probably have overdeveloped quads and calves in relation to your posterior chain, and you probably have weak legs overall. The majority of people suffering from this issue will fix their problem by first taking a few weeks off completely, eating a healthier non-inflammatory diet, and then starting a strength training program with lots of squats and deadlifts.

[calvinphilips]

The other name for Jumper’s Knee is patellar tendonitis. This is caused due to excessive running or cycling, jogging etc. Such activities cause the tendon to get inflamed and this causes pain while stretching the legs. This can be prevented by wearing fitting shoes that are appropriate for the activities you perform, by applying ice every 2 to 3 hrs. Anti-inflammatory medication and wearing band across the patellar tendon would also the treatments for Jumper’s knee.

[LuckSide]

I had patellar tendonitis when I was in 7th grade. The doctor just gave me a brace to wear for a while and it slowly went away.

[Swoosh639]

I also got it from basketball, but I didn't stop training. Kinesio taping and strenghtening legs (no gym, just one legged squats) cured it for me.

[jonmd123]

You're either looking at a ankle mobility/stability issue, or a hip mobility/stability issue (they usually come in pairs).

I think the quad dominance, that people with patella problems have, is more of a protective measure to keep the knee from flexing (I could be wrong).

More times than not, I think you're looking at a TFL/IT band issue.

[NJLife]

foam roll

[krakkerz]

Hip strength and mobility is key for my patellar tendonitis.

[Trey19]

Thanks for sharing your views on Jumper's Knee. I realize that some people can get away with playing through jumper's knee with the knee strap and/or strengthening the legs and the pain usually fades away, while others have to stop taking part in athletic activity for awhile before it goes away. It also depends on the stage of Jumper's knee where it's somewhat easier to get rid of it in the early stage than it would be to get rid of it once it reaches the chronic stage.

[Bigjoe247]

I had Jumpers knee during my 1st year of college... team doc said that its actually extremely surprising more basketball/volleyball players do not have that problem. He gave me stretches to do which were the basic hamstring/quad stretches.. you get jumpers knee when one side of your legs is stronger than the other... for instance your quads are stronger than your hammies. What you need to do is to stretch daily and multiple times (stretching hammiers and quads) also do leg extensions, BUT DO NOT DO HEAVY WEIGHT. you want to do LIGHT weights and slowly do them. The weight should actually be extremely light where you dont feel like its working at all. DO 1 leg at a time. Also strengthen your hammies and quads.. do deadlifts/squats/leg curls... pretty much strengthen both sides of your legs evenly. ALways ICE after running/lifting/playing ball.

Im not sure how long it took to go away, i just know one day i realized i no longer had any pain haha..

[pyaarawala]

If you suffer from jumpers knee, you probably have overdeveloped quads and calves in relation to your posterior chain, and you probably have weak legs overall. The majority of people suffering from this issue will fix their problem by first taking a few weeks off completely, eating a healthier non-inflammatory diet, and then starting a strength training program with lots of squats and deadlifts.

I did exactly this. I stopped playing basketball for a couple weeks and started playing again, only to feel the pain again. It was then I decided to ditch basketball altogether and just focus on the gym. I've been 'going to the gym' for a year before my jumpers knee but I never did any squats/deadlifts. Just a random 3 day bro split and never gave any serious attention to the PC of the legs.

I went on Kris Gethin's 12 week trainer for 12 weeks and afterwards it was gone and never came back. Not that his trainer is really the key but I got a decent amount of time of rest and it was a better routine than my old one. And just to make sure, I got on SS until now and have developed a nice balance in the anterior and posterior muscle groups of my legs. NO MORE PATELLAR TENDONITIS!

[Benji Snap]

It may also be a tight ITB which poulls on the kneecap causing it to not track properly. Massage and stretch the ITB. Massage first. Roll on a tennis or baseball if you want to do it yourself.

[krakkerz]

It may also be a tight ITB which poulls on the kneecap causing it to not track properly. Massage and stretch the ITB. Massage first. Roll on a tennis or baseball if you want to do it yourself.

+1 here. This is what causes my issues. Which is why I suggest mobility of the hips is key here. I get more out of working the TFL and glute medius than just the ITB. Stronger glutes help a great deal, too.

[wburg45]

I had something like this a couple years ago, in junior high I'd always try to grab the rim and I loved to jump so much ppl thought it was weird, my knees would hurt randomly during bball games and practice what I did was I bought a strap that goes below the knee cap and that seemed too reduce the pain!im not sure what the strap is called but Mcdavid makes it and there's a pic on the case it comes in with a knee and the strap on it

[Trey19]

I had something like this a couple years ago, in junior high I'd always try to grab the rim and I loved to jump so much ppl thought it was weird, my knees would hurt randomly during bball games and practice what I did was I bought a strap that goes below the knee cap and that seemed too reduce the pain!im not sure what the strap is called but Mcdavid makes it and there's a pic on the case it comes in with a knee and the strap on it

Yeah the McDavid jumper's knee strap helps a lot especially with reducing pain. I used to have random incidents where I would be in the middle of a basketball game and feel serious pain in my knee to the point where I could barely jump without pain, that was when I knew I had to stop playing basketball for awhile. Now whenever I hear someone tell me they have jumper's knee I tell them to do whatever it takes to get rid of it early because the longer you wait the harder it gets to cure it because I know from experience.

[cmAcbrah]

Had this for atleast 18 months in both knees, horrible pain. played through it, had acupuncture (retarded) tried anti-inflamatories, icing, stretching, shoe inserts etc problem was chronic (tendonosis) and in the end had to have 8 months off from running and jumping and it has been 100% ever since. Apparently the knee needs approx 6 months to regrow the callogen (i think thats what its called) that has been depleted from the knee.

[Trey19]

Yeah man it's crazy how long it takes to heal I wish my doctor would've told me to just rest instead of play through it with the jumper's knee strap. I commend you for taking 8 months off that must have been really difficult.

Had this for atleast 18 months in both knees, horrible pain. played through it, had acupuncture (retarded) tried anti-inflamatories, icing, stretching, shoe inserts etc problem was chronic (tendonosis) and in the end had to have 8 months off from running and jumping and it has been 100% ever since. Apparently the knee needs approx 6 months to regrow the callogen (i think thats what its called) that has been depleted from the knee.

[SamPhysioFox]

Patellar Tendinopathy is something the majority of jumping athletes would have at some point throughout their career. From my perspective as an athlete and coach, it's a load management issue more than anything else. If you're experiencing dynamic pain above 4/10, you'll need to reduce the amount of impact training that you're doing and begin the highest load isometric training you can tolerate (where you actually feel better through your normal ranges the next day). Complete rest is a no-go as you'll need the stimuli to your tendon to recover. Once your dynamic pain is reduced below a 2/10 for your standardised movements, it's all about slowly rebuilding your load and ensuring that each day you can continue to move better until you've regained your prior training loads and intensities.