09/05/2025
With Fall sports entering into their stride, we’ve seen an uptick of athletes developing patellar tendonitis - especially those who didn’t really take a planned break over the summer. These athletes have been going hard for nearly 12 months in a row, with no break in sight until the Holidays (maybe).
While the initial thought is to “rest and take time off”, the research begs to differ.
Something is almost* always better than nothing.
BFR, manual therapy and specific exercises are all great strategies NOW for athletes dealing with patellar tendonitis (even when an MRI says their low grade inflammation around the tendon).
We’ve seen this time and time again in over a decade of treating athletes who decide to shut it down completely until they are pain-free...
They wait, and rest. Then return to play but just because they are pain free does not mean the tissue has recovered properly and is ready to be pushed again.
That’s why an individual approach is best for tendon rehab.
If you or your athlete is dealing with a tendon issue, especially patellar tendonitis, we should talk. They can do so much more than just “rest, wait and see how it goes”.
📖 Source: Silva, et al (2023) Patellar Tendon Load Progression during Rehabilitative Exercises: Implications for the Treatment of Patellar Tendon Injuries
Shout out to .physio for the inspiration behind today’s post!
