Top 7 Tips to Reduce Pain from Patellar Tendonitis
When I developed patellar tendonitis from a series of injuries—from Brazilian Jiu Jitsu to an ankle injury and car accident—I was at my lowest point. I did EVERYTHING I could to get out of pain. It was an emotional rollercoaster. From special creams to doctors and chiropractors, I couldn’t get the help I needed. Some doctors even made my pain worse. I felt alone. And I knew I had to find the answers myself. After much research and trial and error, I came across proven research that shows knees over toes exercises can reduce pain from patellar tendonitis AND help build back strength.
And after 8 months of chronic pain, and laser focus on healing my knee, I can gladly say that not only did I succeed, but I’m now thriving in my personal training career, helping others get out of knee pain and stronger than they ever were before! It’s a full circle story. And there’s no gatekeeping here! Here are my top 7 tips to reduce pain from patellar tendonitis:
1. Walk backward
Sounds awkward, I know. But the reason why it’s important to walk backward if you have patellar tendonitis is because the vastus medialis—a muscle located in your mid-thigh—isn’t activated when walking forward if you have knee pain. BUT it is activated when you walk BACKWARD. This means you can strengthen it.
And walking backward doesn’t put any pressure on your knees. In fact, you should avoid any exercise that causes pain or makes your knee pain worse. You can always regress to easier versions of exercises to slowly build up strength which will reduce pain.
2. Strengthen muscles around your knee
To reduce knee pain, strengthen all the muscles around your knee—your quads, hamstrings, tibs, and calves. Sounds like a lot, but remember, your body is all connected. Your knees are not an isolated part of your body. One injury affects the rest of your body. But you can also strengthen the rest of your body to heal that one injury. There are many exercises that help strengthen these different areas of the body, but if you’re dealing with an injury and need guided help to make sure your form is correct and that you’re not making your injury worse, you can schedule a free consult to see if we can work together.
3. Strengthen ankles, feet, lower legs
It’s likely that your weak knees stemmed from weak ankles. That’s what happened to me. I twisted my ankle wearing high heels while dancing tango and I didn’t properly rehab my ankle. That made my knee more susceptible to injury. There are specific exercises that you can do to strengthen your ankles AND increase ankle flexibility so you don’t trip and fall.
Speaking of not tripping and falling, increasing strength in your feet and lower legs will help build a strong foundation which will decrease your knee pain as well.
4. Avoid sugar, alcohol, stress
What do sugar, alcohol, and stress all have in common? They cause inflammation which will increase pain in weak areas of your body. So if you’re dealing with a knee injury, eating sugar, drinking alcohol, and not properly managing your stress will make your knees hurt more. Even if you’re working on all the right exercises with the best coach. Remember, exercise is one component of your healing process. Diet, stress, and rest are others.
5. Sleep more
Sleep is key in not only maintaining a healthy lifestyle overall, but also for recovering from injuries. When you sleep, there is an “increase in blood flow, which brings along oxygen and nutrients that help recover and repair muscles and regenerate cells.” Your body is helping you heal while you sleep! Make sure you get at least 7-8 hours of sleep every night if you’re a man, and 8-10 hours if you’re a woman.
6. Move your body
Speaking of blood flow…specific exercises that bring blood flow to your knees will help reduce pain. Do these exercises with discretion and with a trainer that knows how to guide you with the correct weight, technique, and form, so you don’t injure yourself more.
Also note that the Rest Ice Compression Elevation (RICE) method created by Gabe Mikrin, was debunked by Mikrin himself. He now states that MOTION is needed for healing. Motion promotes blood flow which stimulates the healing process. So don’t sit around waiting for your knee to heal itself. Motion is lotion.
7. Be patient
Likely one of the most important parts of healing an injury—patience. Because if you try to heal quickly, you’re only going to prolong the healing process. I know you’re in pain. I’ve been where you are. And there are no guaranteed timelines or quick fixes when it comes to healing. But you can take slow steps as I did, along with many of my clients, to not only heal but also bounce back stronger. Remember fast is slow, and slow is fast!
Schedule a complimentary call to discuss your goals or check out my knee course, Knee Victory: Bounce Back Stronger if you’d like to train at home.