At my wits end!!

I have had patellar tendonitis, sometimes bilaterally, for over a year. It is driving me insane, when i rest the pain goes completely but the minute i run whilst choping and changing direction i.e play football the pain comes straight back.

This is the worst injury i have ever had, it is completly stopping me from training my legs in the gym and playing football. I have consulted a physio for months and stuck to their advice, however, the minute i ran again the sodding thing came back!

Has anyone got any advice on how to get rid of this plaguing injury?

Tendinitis takes a long time to come on and won't simple go away with some rest. It is small micro-fractures at the done-tendon interface. You need to discuss what you were doing in the many months leading up to the injury e.g. footwear, playing surface, types and amount of training, diet etc etc. Then assess your biomechanics and more. It is not as simple as rest and it will go away.

Additionally if all is considered normal then the tendon/bone is breaking down (or not healing) for another reason. Our tissues breakdown and repair all the time. It could be that yours is failing in its repair phase (often diet). This can also be because another body system is less than optimal and is blocking that pathway or 'stealing' from it in some way. In my experience applied kinesiology can provide some insights into that and can suggest potential diet restructuring to assist.

The problem was brought on by overuse some 18mnths ago. Initially i played on until i could no longer run. After rest i am ble to squat and walk around normally, however, immediately after exercise i find stairs difficult and any weight bearing flexion is painful.

My main gripe with this injury is theat it gives you the feeling it has gone only to rear its head the moment you do anything remotely strenious!!

Are you doing eccentric quads work on a decline board? - recent evidence would suggest that this is very effective for patella tendonitis.