Hey everyone,
I’ve been dealing with chronic patellar tendinitis for about 3–4 years now, and I’m trying to understand how my case compares to others.
I’ve already seen doctors and done multiple exams (ultrasound, X-ray, MRI). One thing that stood out is the thickness of my patellar tendon — from what I’ve been told, a normal tendon is around 4–6 mm, but mine is about 13 mm, so it’s significantly thickened.
Pain-wise, it fluctuates a lot. There are periods where it’s almost unbearable (to the point I can barely walk), and other times it’s more manageable. But anything involving knee flexion — like squatting, kneeling, or even sitting deep — causes sharp pain right at the patellar tendon, with a burning sensation at the front of the knee.
I’ve been consistently doing strengthening work (including isometrics, Spanish squats, etc.). Isometrics seem to help temporarily, but the relief is very short-lived — sometimes it feels like the pain “resets” almost immediately after I stop.
For context, I’ve trained for years — mostly strength training and some CrossFit-style work. My numbers used to be pretty solid (deadlift around 300 kg, squats around 140–150 kg for 6–8 reps at my peak).
Nowadays, anything involving deep knee flexion is heavily limited. I’m down to about one-third to half of my previous loads, and the pain during knee extension (especially when coming up from a squat-type movement) can be very intense.
So I wanted to ask:
Does anyone else here have long-term (years) patellar tendinitis?
Do you know the thickness of your tendon? If so, how many mm?
Have you had similar symptoms with a very thick tendon?
What actually helped you improve (if anything)?
I’m especially curious to know whether my case is unusually severe in terms of tendon thickness, or if others have experienced something similar.
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to share their experience.