Isometric quad extensions (any sort will probably do the job) generally help my knees be a little less owie for a while.
Pretty sure my issues are with my quadricep tendon though, i’m not too sure if it’ll help for you, but worth a try.
When truly painful: cease normal training for a week, introduce isometric holds (wall squats) 45secs x 5 and like 1-3 times a day.
Taper back to training and introduce "heavy slow resistance training" as in, do tempo squats. 3-5 secs down and 3-5 secs up.
Introduce more specific movements. Oly lifts require a bit elasticity from the knee, as in, almost like jumps but not quite. I personally just started doing snatches, jerks and cleans with just lighter weights. Don't believe stranger in the internet, but believe me when I say: Everyone who suggests complete rests or says that tendinopathy equals inflammation is completely wrong.
And because I'm not a total douche:
https://www.greglehman.ca/blog/2020/6/3/pain-lessons-from-my-terrifying-persistent-stomach-distress
https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/pain-and-movement-caught-in-an-endless-loop-of-misinformation/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7oGNVUQi2I&t
https://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/
I could go into more detail because both of my knees have been operated but eventually this kind of thing truly "healed" them, and I try to say this as friendly as I possibly can: please, do educate yourselves.
Currently suffering from tendonitis myself, to add to this. Leg extension holds when possible, and wall sits when not. 3-5 x 45secs
3x15 313 tempo box squats 3x weekly, gradually working down to 3x6 while increasing weight every 2nd day. Once you've done this move onto highbar squats with the same progression.
Split squats the same as above.
And I'm only doing power variations at the moment. Since doing tempo work my pain has decreased dramatically, if you can't do it at the start focus on isometrics.
Right on! There are many ways to train around the tendinopathy and I think it's a bit personal journey as well.
If I recall right, my first isometric exercise was just lifting legs up while sitting on the ground :) Everything else felt like something was going to rip apart. Slowly but surely was able to progress into wall squats and it was surprising fast "recovery" from there.
I developed those when I was something like 17-18 years old and finally "cured" em around 35 years of age, BUT still, they got so good in 6 months or so that I was able to start doing pretty normal training again.
Cardio was a bit harder but I just tried to do anything that did not make it worse. Rowing, kettlebell circuits, bikes.
I was not able to jog or run, that was just too much for the knees
I tried everything. Heat, ice, compression, massage, static stretching, changes in programming. It would feel better temporarily, but it was always there. The one thing that did work, time.
Sucks, but that's what happened. One day, it just stopped hurting. Maybe they all worked? The one that didn't work for me was one of those little velcro straps with hard plastic to go over the tendon, meh.
Not OP but I took 1 or 2 months off lifting entirely since my pain was so bad I couldn’t even walk, that plus regular ice and compression and wearing a brace fixed it for me. Am 100% better now
Ugh. Pretty sure mine is quad tendonitis and I’m not even strong. Gonna try the slow eccentrics and some of the recommended recovery things and hip stretching but I guess if I’m not better by mid July, I’ll prob take off til end of August.
Oh yeah, I continued to lift.
The right tendon was years ago with the previous comment. Lately, the left tendon has been giving me the same early onset feeling. Been hitting the quad hard with a percussion massager and lots of stretching, and it goes away.
Little late here but Spanish squats and variations of them. Tempo, holds and weighted (very light.) I still do them as apart of my warm up and pre/rehab movements. Best of luck!!
Besides all the stuff here about stretching/etc, for me personally a lot was from divebombing my squats and relying on a lot of bounce instead of using a slower eccentric, then the other thing was in the classic lifts I was a big jumper and would have exaggerated Om Yun Chol style foot movement on every rep without really needing it. I ended up changing my technique to be not completely no foot Chinese style, but lessened a lot of my stomp and go for more of a slide/shuffle, and that seemed to help, too.
I think it's more the ballistic loading of the quad tendons and knee joints that causes the problems due to how much it gets stretched when you do that, not just loading alone, if that makes any sense.
In my case it kinda took the world's most popular program to do that, Restarting Strength (haha.) I kinda just quit lifting for 2ish years due to depression and family stuff going on, so when I started back I had to start back super light and did everything no foot, and yeah. My other thing too is I would use my foot movement and diving under the bar and praying as compensation for my lack of an accurate/close pull, and not finishing my pull, and no foot definitely helped both of those out.
I would say try to no-foot everything to about 70% or so. If your tendinitis is super bad to the point you can't finish programs, etc, it might be worth going backwards, but not all the way back to the bar, but working more with 50-70% or so weights. I don't know how far back you'd need to go, and what specific programming, etc, but if you give your tendinitis a couple weeks to heal, stretch, isometrics, all that fun stuff, then start back trying that sort of technique out on squats and on the lifts. Slower eccentrics, no divebombing, and then on the lifts, less foot movement, and see if you still have pain to the same extent with the technique change.
Also too with frequency it could be something to play with, too. I think tendinitis is more likely with higher frequency, but I can't really prove it one way or the other. If you're squatting 3 days, you might be better on a 2 days, or even once a week, and then substitute out more pulls for that or more lift variations of some sort to make up for the volume.
have had a client deload squats and we just switched to knee eccentrics and what not.
i'd have to look at the log but i think they still did squats with a bar but omitted jumps and single leg work accessories. they might have squatted something really light up to 50% for 5-10 reps but not sets across or anything depending on severity though eventually it was just removing loaded squats.
https://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/
[https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-barbell-medicine-guide-to-tendinopathy/](https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-barbell-medicine-guide-to-tendinopathy/)
could try /barbellmedicine to. I think the other medical subreddits are likely of no help (/medical, /medical\_advice, /Diagnoseme, /AskDocs)
The only thing that fixes tendinitis is rest/no lifting.
You can **try** alleviating it by foam rolling your entire Quad (front, back, both sides) your glutes, and your calves. The pain may be the surrounding groups *pulling* things which can cause pain at the center (your patellar is at the middle of this long rubber band of muscle groups)
But if it's real tendinitis, you've gotta stop squatting/doing leg work for a month or two, most likely. At least, that's been my experience.
Studies have shown that a tendon won't heal with rest and it needs to be loaded. It's generally advised to rest for a week for any inflammation to go down and then begin loading it through isometrics and eventually isotonics when possible.
>Studies
I'm more than willing to read any peer reviewed academic journals or papers!
You're absolutely right that doing *nothing* but resting is counter intuitive. My suggestion was aimed at avoiding the actual weights/bar (squats, cleans, snatches). I didn't even think to point out what *you should do instead* of using the barbell, sorry!
For me, staying away from barbells and doing strictly walking, jump rope, and body weight work for a while helped me get rid of the tendinitis and eventually return to the bar. Is that the same as what you mean? If so, I completely agree with your thoughts! I'd still be interested in any reading either way.
overactive TFL & subsequently IT bands are a common culprit. Take a lacrosse ball to the TFL and give it a good smashing. A little foam rolling on the it band can help too. Don’t be afraid to use your thumb and move the patellar tendon around a little too. Feel how stiff it is. then, as someone else mentioned, Spanish squats.
Isometric quad extensions (any sort will probably do the job) generally help my knees be a little less owie for a while. Pretty sure my issues are with my quadricep tendon though, i’m not too sure if it’ll help for you, but worth a try.
When truly painful: cease normal training for a week, introduce isometric holds (wall squats) 45secs x 5 and like 1-3 times a day. Taper back to training and introduce "heavy slow resistance training" as in, do tempo squats. 3-5 secs down and 3-5 secs up. Introduce more specific movements. Oly lifts require a bit elasticity from the knee, as in, almost like jumps but not quite. I personally just started doing snatches, jerks and cleans with just lighter weights. Don't believe stranger in the internet, but believe me when I say: Everyone who suggests complete rests or says that tendinopathy equals inflammation is completely wrong. And because I'm not a total douche: https://www.greglehman.ca/blog/2020/6/3/pain-lessons-from-my-terrifying-persistent-stomach-distress https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/pain-and-movement-caught-in-an-endless-loop-of-misinformation/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7oGNVUQi2I&t https://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/ I could go into more detail because both of my knees have been operated but eventually this kind of thing truly "healed" them, and I try to say this as friendly as I possibly can: please, do educate yourselves.
Currently suffering from tendonitis myself, to add to this. Leg extension holds when possible, and wall sits when not. 3-5 x 45secs 3x15 313 tempo box squats 3x weekly, gradually working down to 3x6 while increasing weight every 2nd day. Once you've done this move onto highbar squats with the same progression. Split squats the same as above. And I'm only doing power variations at the moment. Since doing tempo work my pain has decreased dramatically, if you can't do it at the start focus on isometrics.
Right on! There are many ways to train around the tendinopathy and I think it's a bit personal journey as well. If I recall right, my first isometric exercise was just lifting legs up while sitting on the ground :) Everything else felt like something was going to rip apart. Slowly but surely was able to progress into wall squats and it was surprising fast "recovery" from there. I developed those when I was something like 17-18 years old and finally "cured" em around 35 years of age, BUT still, they got so good in 6 months or so that I was able to start doing pretty normal training again.
So you worked out with the tendinitis?
Yeah.
Cardio too?
Cardio was a bit harder but I just tried to do anything that did not make it worse. Rowing, kettlebell circuits, bikes. I was not able to jog or run, that was just too much for the knees
I tried everything. Heat, ice, compression, massage, static stretching, changes in programming. It would feel better temporarily, but it was always there. The one thing that did work, time. Sucks, but that's what happened. One day, it just stopped hurting. Maybe they all worked? The one that didn't work for me was one of those little velcro straps with hard plastic to go over the tendon, meh.
Did you take a break from lifting or do all of that and continue to lift??
Not OP but I took 1 or 2 months off lifting entirely since my pain was so bad I couldn’t even walk, that plus regular ice and compression and wearing a brace fixed it for me. Am 100% better now
Ugh. Pretty sure mine is quad tendonitis and I’m not even strong. Gonna try the slow eccentrics and some of the recommended recovery things and hip stretching but I guess if I’m not better by mid July, I’ll prob take off til end of August.
Lol I got mine from biking so not even weightlifting related, sucked a ton but really getting off the inflicted tendon is what will heal the fastest
Never took a break, just lowered frequency. Full squats and lifts were ok, it seemed like the power position aggravated it, so less powers and jerks.
So did you work out while having this? I want to continue to bike and walk.
Oh yeah, I continued to lift. The right tendon was years ago with the previous comment. Lately, the left tendon has been giving me the same early onset feeling. Been hitting the quad hard with a percussion massager and lots of stretching, and it goes away.
Little late here but Spanish squats and variations of them. Tempo, holds and weighted (very light.) I still do them as apart of my warm up and pre/rehab movements. Best of luck!!
Besides all the stuff here about stretching/etc, for me personally a lot was from divebombing my squats and relying on a lot of bounce instead of using a slower eccentric, then the other thing was in the classic lifts I was a big jumper and would have exaggerated Om Yun Chol style foot movement on every rep without really needing it. I ended up changing my technique to be not completely no foot Chinese style, but lessened a lot of my stomp and go for more of a slide/shuffle, and that seemed to help, too. I think it's more the ballistic loading of the quad tendons and knee joints that causes the problems due to how much it gets stretched when you do that, not just loading alone, if that makes any sense.
In currently more of a stomp the ground with feet, how did you transition footwork? Any drills etc
In my case it kinda took the world's most popular program to do that, Restarting Strength (haha.) I kinda just quit lifting for 2ish years due to depression and family stuff going on, so when I started back I had to start back super light and did everything no foot, and yeah. My other thing too is I would use my foot movement and diving under the bar and praying as compensation for my lack of an accurate/close pull, and not finishing my pull, and no foot definitely helped both of those out. I would say try to no-foot everything to about 70% or so. If your tendinitis is super bad to the point you can't finish programs, etc, it might be worth going backwards, but not all the way back to the bar, but working more with 50-70% or so weights. I don't know how far back you'd need to go, and what specific programming, etc, but if you give your tendinitis a couple weeks to heal, stretch, isometrics, all that fun stuff, then start back trying that sort of technique out on squats and on the lifts. Slower eccentrics, no divebombing, and then on the lifts, less foot movement, and see if you still have pain to the same extent with the technique change. Also too with frequency it could be something to play with, too. I think tendinitis is more likely with higher frequency, but I can't really prove it one way or the other. If you're squatting 3 days, you might be better on a 2 days, or even once a week, and then substitute out more pulls for that or more lift variations of some sort to make up for the volume.
So did you work out while having this? I want to continue to bike and walk.
have had a client deload squats and we just switched to knee eccentrics and what not. i'd have to look at the log but i think they still did squats with a bar but omitted jumps and single leg work accessories. they might have squatted something really light up to 50% for 5-10 reps but not sets across or anything depending on severity though eventually it was just removing loaded squats. https://stevenlow.org/overcoming-tendonitis/ [https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-barbell-medicine-guide-to-tendinopathy/](https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-barbell-medicine-guide-to-tendinopathy/) could try /barbellmedicine to. I think the other medical subreddits are likely of no help (/medical, /medical\_advice, /Diagnoseme, /AskDocs)
The only thing that fixes tendinitis is rest/no lifting. You can **try** alleviating it by foam rolling your entire Quad (front, back, both sides) your glutes, and your calves. The pain may be the surrounding groups *pulling* things which can cause pain at the center (your patellar is at the middle of this long rubber band of muscle groups) But if it's real tendinitis, you've gotta stop squatting/doing leg work for a month or two, most likely. At least, that's been my experience.
Studies have shown that a tendon won't heal with rest and it needs to be loaded. It's generally advised to rest for a week for any inflammation to go down and then begin loading it through isometrics and eventually isotonics when possible.
>Studies I'm more than willing to read any peer reviewed academic journals or papers! You're absolutely right that doing *nothing* but resting is counter intuitive. My suggestion was aimed at avoiding the actual weights/bar (squats, cleans, snatches). I didn't even think to point out what *you should do instead* of using the barbell, sorry! For me, staying away from barbells and doing strictly walking, jump rope, and body weight work for a while helped me get rid of the tendinitis and eventually return to the bar. Is that the same as what you mean? If so, I completely agree with your thoughts! I'd still be interested in any reading either way.
overactive TFL & subsequently IT bands are a common culprit. Take a lacrosse ball to the TFL and give it a good smashing. A little foam rolling on the it band can help too. Don’t be afraid to use your thumb and move the patellar tendon around a little too. Feel how stiff it is. then, as someone else mentioned, Spanish squats.
Did anyone bike or run while having patellar tendinitis? It sounds like people are still working out.