Week 13-14

Pretty much straight after I started to get pain on LEFT knee quad tendon (up and down stairs) I knocked off the weights and went for resting (with wretched knee supports back on again...grrrr). Despite resting I got gradual build up of palpable crepitus symptoms in patella and quad tendons of both knees along with that pain on the left quad tendon attachment. This big surge in problems above and below both knees is a real blow! Looks like the gym weights have been overloading the tendons (despite trying to focus on eccentric phase) but it took a while to build up and become obvious

RIGHT KNEE: On the plus the pain on the right patella tendon seems to have disappeared. Still feels wet, squashy (often) and very scratchy and crepitus and still with a tight MPFL. 3/5

LEFT KNEE: 3/5

Full List Of Symptoms

Thought I'd just jot down a list of all the various symptoms I've had. I get problems in both legs but generally the right is much worse

LL = Left Leg. RL = Right Leg

Patellar Tendon

• Diffuse and very nasty pain all across the face of the patella - spreading up from the lower focal pain spot (RL)
  
• Sharp pain just where it joins the patella - felt quite deep inside (RL)
• Occasionally unstable and gives way (RL)
• Audible crackling noise wen going from a straight locked leg to a small amount of bend whilst the tendon stays tensed (RL)
• Squashy feeling (RL)
• Does not look (when fully relaxed) quite as substantial as the left one and has a slight concave. No visible difference between legs when patella tendon tensed
  
• Palpable (but not really audible) creaking when the tendon is tensed a bit and then gently touched (LL and RL)
  
• As if my trouser knee fabric were wet and cold even when the skin in warm and dry - really weird feeling (perhaps neurological?) (LL and RL)
• Prickly burning feeling
  

Quadriceps Tendon

• Palpable (but not really audible) creaking when the tendon tensed a bit and then gently touched
• Warm (but not to the touch)
• Prickly, mild burning feeling
• Tingling (neurological? - in fact this was the very first symptom I ever had - imagine if I'd taken a few weeks out then...sigh....)
• Wasted VMO caused by limping and avoiding that leg

Also a very tight band going from my medial patella - I think this is MPF Ligament (might have aways been tight but I just noticed because I now spend so much time fiddling with my knees :)

Weeks 6 -12

So, from the start of this period I've put away the neoprene knee supports (which make me feel a lot more normal!) and been in the gym doing leg weights. Having read a bit about tendinopathy I've been trying to focus on the eccentric phase over the concentric phase.
At the start there was visible wasting of the right VMO (I guess caused by all the limping) and a dramatic strength imbalance. After gradually building up the weight over 6 weeks the legs were the same strength and VMO had plumped up on right leg. Gained a lot of strength back and was feeling very mentally positive. Did try a bit of cycling but that flared up the pain on the patella tendon.

But it's gone a bit wrong at the end of this period....Started to get pain on the quad attachment of the left knee. Carried on despite for a few sessions and then common sense kicked in (I've learned something after all!). Just going to rest for a few weeks and see what happens.

RIGHT KNEE: The weights do seem to have helped the pain and wet feeling in the right patella tendon - but still got plenty of stiffness, twinges and wet feeling there. So would still say this was 3/5 for right knee

LEFT KNEE: Pain at quad tendon attachment on ascending, descending, lowering and rising from sitting - but not to sharp. 3/5