A blog detailing my recovery from Patella Tendonopathy (tendonitis/tendonosis) and my experience with PRP Injection

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Month 4

The healing seems to have plateaued. There are definitely more good days than bad, and the pain seems to shift from one knee to the other. Still not at a level of running of where I want to be, but I seem to be making progress. According to studies the platelets are still active in both tendons, so there should still be some degree of healing still taking place, even 4 months after the initial PRP Injection. 

I have continued taking the following supplements daily:

  • MSM (I feel this is helping the most)
  • Fish Liver Oil (good at keeping the inflammation down)
  • Chondroitin
  • Glucosamine
  • Knee supplement that has all of the above including:
    • Flax seed oil
    • Boron
    • Manganese
    • Collagen Type II (2)
    • Mangosteen Extract
    • Vit C
    • Vit E
    • Vit B1
    • Vit B2
    • Vit B6
    • Vit B12
    • Pantothenic Acid
    • Zinc
    • Selenium
    • Silicon
  • Multi-vitamin


I have been doing foam rolling on my quads, calves, glutes and ITB for 10 mins every night before bed as well as stretching.

I have also been stretching these areas of my body.

Progress is slow. Whenever the knees feel good I attempt a run and seem to take a step backwards. I believe the key is patience and consistency

How have you found your PRP Injection experience? Has it helped you? What rehab protocol are you following? What has and hasn't worked for you? Do you think I should go for another shot? I am get lots of support and positive feedback and I would love to hear from you and hear about your experiences...

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Month 3

This was the month where I slowly experienced a noticeable difference. The bad days became fewer and good days became more regualr. One thing that I felt that had been different from the past 2 years of patella tendonosis, was when I sat, straightened my leg and flexed my quad muscle as hard as possible I would always get a sharp pain in the tendon, however this slowly went away and I no longer exprience this at all.

Pain going up stairs lessened each week, and I currently have no pain when going up stairs. There is however some discomfort when going down stairs. Before the PRP Injection, I could not sit at my desk with my knees bent for longer than 15 without my knee starting to burn. This uncomfortable burning sensation diminished greatly by month 3.

My knees were still not 100%, but had come quite a way in 3 months. I did, however, not go for another shot. I decided to wait and see if they would contiune to make positive progress  in time with the stretches, strenghtening and eccentric dips, until I spent more money.

By this stage I started my usual exercise routine of lifting upper body weights 3 times a week, and cycling quite rigorously (mountain biking) 2 - 3 times a week 10 - 20km. During the first few kms my knees would feel a bit niggly, but after a while they would warm up and feel fine, and then if I pushed too hard they woud start hurting again.


All about finding the balance between rest and recovery, and strenghtening!

Monday, September 3, 2012

Month 2

After 2 months my left tendon felt very similar to how it felt prior to the PRP Injection. It was still quite painful and niggly. That inital tightness and feeling of being pain free when jumping or running on th spot, had gone. It appeared as if the tendon had returned to its normal state, without being full of fluid. This was quite strange, as from what I had I read of past patients experiences, their tendon was more pianful after the first few weeks  but there was a noticeable improvement after 2 months. Surely I would be able to notice some benefit by this stage?

I had a had shot to my right knee a month earlier, based on the initial success of the PRP Injection in my left tendon. However, my right knee seemed to be in the same boat as the left knee- not much better, but not worse.


I continued to take it easy. I wore a patella tendon strap (cho-pat strap), to support the  knees while doing light exercise or walking up and down stairs. I continued with my rehab program of strenghtenin my glutes, hamstrings, calves (I will do another post on this at a lter stage, of my exact rehab protocol- primarily based on Mike Robertson's Bulletproof Knees), I also continued doing light eccentric dips, this was deterined on how my knees were feeling. If they were feeling tender or painful I would rest them and skip the eccentric dips, if they were feeling good I would do sets of 15 until they started hurting.

It was around this two week mark that I started to notice a slight change. I had periods of approx. 3 days were my knee would feel really good, and then a period where it felt really bad (worse than before). Prior to this- the injection- my knee had experience a consistent type of pain. Now this pain started fluctuating between very sore to minimallt marginal.