Left knee pain - anything I can do?

[Sho'Nuff]

So about 6 months ago I developed some pretty significant pain in my left knee. Most of the time its localized to the point at which the patellar tendon meets the patella. Pain is particularly bad when I sit for an extended period (driving is particularly bad), and when I kneel on that knee. There are days it is so pressure sensitive that kneeling on that knee is not possible. Moving laterally on that knee (e.g., side step shuffle, pivoting, etc.) also causes a lot of discomfort. There have been a few times where the knee feels "loose" or "grindy" and I feel things moving around in weird ways. Although its not bad, I notice pain in my left knee when I walk upstairs and downstairs.

FWIW - I have no idea what was the underlying cause of the injury. It had nothing to do with crossfit (I think) because I had already been on an extended break from crossfit for 4-5 months due to my work schedule and a problem with my right shoulder (threw a baseball too hard). The only thing I can think of was that I banged my knee pretty badly while working on my boat one day, but I can't be certain that was the root cause.

I went to the orthopedist about 3 months ago for the issue and came away with a diagnosis of patellar tendonitis and a prescription for pensaid and physical therapy. Did the therapy for about 2 months and put the pennsaid on religiously - to no effect. If anything, the pain is more severe.

I am going to schedule another appointment with my ortho in the new year, but in the meantime are there any stretches/exercises you all can recommend I try?

This is getting really frustrating because between my shoulder issue and the knee, I am pretty much sidelined from doing much weightlifting. I've continued to walk, stretch, do the elliptical, etc. just to get my heart rate up, but I'm really not happy with that and would rather be lifting.

 

[mike8675309]

No direct information, but a quick search shows some possible causes if your orthopedist was correct. In particular would be options 1 and 3 that may be a result of crossfit (box jumping, focus on Olympic lifts). do you run regularly as well?
If inflammation is confirmed by the second appointment I would follow what the doc says to do but also look at your diet and those things you eat that support inflammation vs those that are anti-inflammation.

• Physical activity. Running and jumping are most commonly associated with patellar tendinitis. Sudden increases in how hard or how often you engage in the activity also add stress on the tendon, as can changing your running shoes.
• Tight leg muscles. Tight thigh muscles (quadriceps) and hamstrings, which run up the back of your thighs, can increase strain on your patellar tendon.
• Muscular imbalance. If some muscles in your legs are much stronger than others, the stronger muscles could pull harder on your patellar tendon. This uneven pull could cause tendinitis.

Enhanced Athletic Recovery without Undermining Adaptation
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/enhanced-athletic-recovery-without-undermining-adaptation/

Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/anti-inflammatory-antioxidants/

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Kratom would aid greatly with the pain.

 

[Sho'Nuff]

No direct information, but a quick search shows some possible causes if your orthopedist was correct. In particular would be options 1 and 3 that may be a result of crossfit (box jumping, focus on Olympic lifts). do you run regularly as well?
If inflammation is confirmed by the second appointment I would follow what the doc says to do but also look at your diet and those things you eat that support inflammation vs those that are anti-inflammation.

• Physical activity. Running and jumping are most commonly associated with patellar tendinitis. Sudden increases in how hard or how often you engage in the activity also add stress on the tendon, as can changing your running shoes.
• Tight leg muscles. Tight thigh muscles (quadriceps) and hamstrings, which run up the back of your thighs, can increase strain on your patellar tendon.
• Muscular imbalance. If some muscles in your legs are much stronger than others, the stronger muscles could pull harder on your patellar tendon. This uneven pull could cause tendinitis.

Enhanced Athletic Recovery without Undermining Adaptation
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/enhanced-athletic-recovery-without-undermining-adaptation/

Anti-Inflammatory Antioxidants
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/anti-inflammatory-antioxidants/

Thanks. The weird thing was that the knee pain developed after quite a long hiatus from Crossfit. When my son's little league started up in March I stopped going to xfit regularly because managing his team was essentially a part time job. When the season ended in June I couldn't return to xfit because my shoulder was ganked up because of a throwing injury. The knee pain showed up in August, for seemingly no reason as I mentioned.

That said, pre-injury I did a lot of the things you mentioned. Box jumps, olympic lifts, running, lunges, etc. one or more of those elements were part of my daily exercise routine.

 

[cbrunny]

Patellar femoral pain syndrome. This sounds almost exactly like what my knee did. I'm literally sitting in the PT office now waiting for my appt. Do glute exercises.