Partial patellar tendon tear.. Rehab, Surgery?

[Petejrrr]

I have recently been diagnosed with a tendon tear in my knee, and more specifically the patellar tendon, the doctor said he does not want to do surgery due to the 6 to 12 month rehab time with this procedure and since it is not completely torn, but without surgery it looks like i will not be 100 percent again and get back my capabilities. since it is not ruptured or completely torn im wondering if i could rehab the tendon and if theres anything i can do to rehab the tendon toward bringing it back to strength without surgery.. basically i was told not to play basketball without a knee brace, refrain from certain excersizes and types of motions or it would get worse and tear completely... basically is there anything i can do to improve it without surgery, is there any way to get it back to 100 percent (with or without surgery) thanks.  also i was told arthoscopic surgery would not be sufficient, open knee surgery would have to be used.

[lizzy_0585]

I have been reading about all posts. I wanted to add my own question I was just told myself that I have a 60% tear of my patella tendon.  I ride a motorcycle and bend the knee almost all the way back and after a while it may hurt.  Walking and everything else it fine.  The doctors I have seen haven’t told me anything about how to take care of it or how to help it heal.  Anyone know what’s best to help it heal?

[joemyra]

I had a partial tear of my left patellar tendon on June 3, 2011.  My daughter was recovering from a major surgery and went out to play with some kids at the Ronald Mcdonald House.  I jumped and when I landed my knee popped and then...pain.  After 7 weeks of pain and difficulty I had an MRI that revealed the tear.  I  had surgery on August 1, 2011.  I am 35 years old, married with 2 little ones.  It has been a little rough since Monday.  The first 3 days were filled with a lot of pain.  I used the pain meds for sure.  I'm not sure the degree of tear I had, but I don't think it was too bad because I can already out 100% weight on the leg.....as long as it it fully extended.  I am experienceing numbness in the lower area of the surgery and it is a little red around that spot.  Did anyone have this?  I go for post-op on Friday so I'll see where I should be.  

[StasieMarie]

I do not know how far along you are now, but I too have a partial tear in my patellar tendon. First off, a Cortosone shots are bad because they weaken the tendon.My doctor told me my surrounding muscles were to strong to undergo surgery. There is this new innovative procedure called PRP (platelet rich plasma) which helps stimulate tendon growth. Basically the doctor will take a needle of your own oxygen and platelet rich blood and inject it into the knee. The ideology behind this procedure is that platelets are responsible for growth, so bringing them to the site of the damage will help. Also the tendon lacks a strong blood flow of oxygen so that also is brought to the knee. The great part is there is no transfusion or graft so the body's adaptation is more fluid and it is non-invasive.

[SD619ER]

This is how I fixed my partial tear of the patellar tendon.

My diagnosis 8-2-10: Partial tearing of the patellar tendon at its origin with associated bone marrow edema in the inferior patella. These findings are consistent with jumper's knee. Tendinosis of the popliteus tendon at its insertion.

I had knee pain from 12/07 - 1/11. Before my injury, I was never a good distance runner (I would get shin splints if I tried to run too far) but I was an active person playing soccer, Frisbee and hiking. By mid 08 I could do very little physical activity from the knee pain. Some days it was worse than others. Walking up and down stairs hurt and jogging across the street hurt. I couldn't do any hard surface running (grass, concrete, dirt trails) but I could run barefoot in the sand and I could bike. After shutting my body down for two years trying to do specific weight training and physical therapy, I wasn't getting much better. Stretching helped but it didn't solve my problem.

In Jan of 2011 I went for a jog after doing some research on proper running form. Before my injury, I would run with a heal strike and poor upper body form (I was a "head chaser"). I walked and ran loudly and running HURT. After reading about the correct stride length, upper body form, tempo, and landing on the ball of the foot I decide to put it to practice. I went jogging barefoot for one mile with absolutely no pain.

I decided to go barefoot because it forces you to run with proper form. I have now run barefoot for six months. I completed a half marathon in June (2hrs 20 min) with my Vibram shoes. I play soccer and Frisbee again and I have no pain in my knee.

I would recommend you find a rec center with a grass field and run around it a few times barefoot to see how it feels. Running on grass feels good and you don't have to worry about getting cut. Make sure you read about proper running form, and put those lessons to use. Even if you don’t go barefoot, proper form is important. TAKE IT SLOW. I've read of people breaking bones in their feet or tearing tendons or muscles in their feet because they try to do too much. Your feet are weak, give them time to build up strength.

Hope my story helps.

[jb37]

Its been 7 months since my operation. I had a 5 % tear, but enough to make me hobble rather than walk. Went through the operation and they ended up reattaching part of it to the thigh bone, stitching the tear in the middle, excising part of the Bursa and a clean up of debris.

Went through everything like I was supposed to including PT. -- Kicker was I have a job where I have to stand and walk for 8 hours a day. Back at work 2 months later with restricted hours...Things were looking good and then 7 months later I tried the treadmill... All hell has broken lose.

They dont want to operate again because of the damage it will do.. So now Im worse off than before.  I can barely walk right now.

[kimmy1954]

Well, it must have been about 1997 that I was riding my horse when my best friend cantered past me and her horse kicked me slightly below the knee. (imagine being hit by a sledge hammer right below your knee) To make a long story short, I was told by the local hospital that I had a bad laceration. (it took 3 subcutaneous stitches and 5 outside to close the wound) After going through 2 prescriptions of pain killers and still in pain and much swelling, I asked my PCP to refer me to a specialist. He sent me to Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh and the Orthopedic doctor told me they had read the MRI wrong and that I had a torn patellar tendon.( He had come from Philadelphia where he said he saw a lot of that sort of injury in horse people from getting kicked) This was well over a month after the injury. He said by then it was too late to do surgery and showed me some exercises to do. I have no problems with that knee other than arthritis; which is present in the inner part of both knees. Other than the first two months or so of the injury; I had no residual problems.

[Thesuperlife316]

I had knee surgery in December of 2010. It&#39t;s now June 2017 new my knee has started having slight issues. I slept lying on my side (Knee pressed in to mattress). I woke up in some serious pain!!! It really is sore. I'm hoping that I didn't cause some kind of injury. It  is tender and I try rubbing and icing the area as well.