Quadricep Tendonitis or...

[mulacr]

I have recently been diagnosed with quadricep tendonitis and been advised on recovery, but would like to understand a little more about the condition and what I am feeling now if anyone can help.

History:
Mostly a off-road runner and not much of a cyclist but spent a week averaging 7-10 hours a day on the bike. Tightness and slight swelling began on day two across the front of the patella. Pain was bearable thereafter but very uncomfortable. Became painful when climbing mountains in the middle of the trip. Relieved greatly once saddle was raised on day 5 or 6. Initially unable to get a stretch out of quad as too sore to bend the knee that far. Tightness relieved once stretching was possible.

Now:
The swelling went down very quickly and I have now been resting for 5 weeks. I stretch very regularly and complete the suggested strengthening exercises religiously.

However when I run my finger upwards over the patella I still reach a "lip" where the flesh between the skin and the bone "rolls", possibly at the point of insertion. This also occurs minimally on the very top edge of the patella when running the finger dowards with a bent knee.

I was wondering what causes this "rolling". Whether it is still inflamed or if this is caused by scarred tissue or...and whether it would be advisable to start easy training in another week or so...?

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

m

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[Musculoman]

Hay mulacr

Can you please describe what you mean when you say "rolls" ? I assumed that you mean you flick over something with your finger? or it is like a little mass or bump in the tissue?

It is likely that following tendonitis you can have residual inflammation which has turned into local scarring within the tendon sheath, if this is what you might mean by "rolls" ? This scarring can be worked out by your local therapist but will likely reduce by doing some low resistance exercise which puts your quads through its ranges. I would suggest a stationary bike with no/very light resistance, put the seat up high to start and do 30minutes peddeling over. This will slide your quads muscle through the tendon sheath, increasing lubrication and hopefully breaking down any scarring. STOP immediately if you feel any discomfort, as this will be the irritation starting the whole injury process over again. Following a few days of this you can try slowly dropping the seat height every 10 minutes from high to low for 30-50 minutes. Again stop if you feel any discomfort.

However, if you mean something else when you say "rolls" let me know and I can try to help. In regards to your Return to Sport... As with most return to sports, you have to start small. i.e. the stat bike as mentioned above, slowly increasing your training intensity (amount/resistance) by no more than 10% per week.

Oh and a quick tip If you are not a cyclist, try not to do 60hour weeks on a bike with no ramp up training to match. People tend to think of cycling as low impact and easy (comparative to other endurance sports), signing up for quite long rides without appropriate training. You don't see weekend runners suddenly run marathons and not come away with similar conditions for a reason.

Hope some of this helps. Musculoman

[mulacr]

Cheers, you’re right, it is flicking over something with my finger rather than a bump.

I would never usually start a trip as unprepared, but unfortunately due to various reasons the planned prep did not happen. I totally appreciate not doing too much too soon, but guess I hoped our minimal intensity would not cause too many proplems!error.

I will update this in a couple of weeks with my progress. Thanks for your help, it is just what I was looking for.

m

[Musculoman]

No problem, Glad I can help!

Keep me posted on how things go, any dramas just send me a private message / post on the forums again.



Musculoman