Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Petellar Tendon Tear Recovery

Hi All,

I tore my patellar tendon in my right knee playing basketball on 7/17. Went to the basket full speed and jump stopped and all of sudden felt like someone took a sledge hammer to my knee. After the injury it was apparent the knee cap was dislocated. I was rushed to the ER and upon review it revealed that I had torn patellar tendon. I had surgery the following Monday (7/21)

I am  27 years old and a former college athlete and was training hard for an Iron Man in October so experiencing this injury has been very discouraging.

I have my appointment 8/11 (which will be week 3) to withdraw my staples etc. I am already able to walk (with the brace looked at 0) confidently and the last few days started to do calf raises and leg raises (with the brace on locked of course)

I was wondering how many weeks it took for people to be comfortable to walk without the brace. Additionally, is there any younger athletes on here on who done an accelerated program? I am trying to respect the injury but for someone who lives sports and fitness it is really hard to be pretty much immobile.
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
10389859 tn?1409921868
Everyone recovers differently from injuries and illnesses.  I completely severed both my patellar tendons in a degloving injury (every except the bones came off the legs from the knees down to the feet and they wanted to amputate them).  I ended up living in/out of the hospital and Hyperbaric Chamber for a year.  The Chamber is what saved me and grew the fibers back (or most of them).  I never had surgery on the tendons; only extensive graft surgery.  Yes, I'm much weaker than I used to be and I had to make life changes, but at least they didn't have to amputate them.  I struggle to walk every day, but I'm determined and won't give up.  I have pain over the tendons and do my home PT since I was never sent to PT because my other injuries were so severe.  So don't give up.  These things take time to heal.  And realize that you may have to make some lifestyle changes to accommodate living with this.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
I'm sorry to hear about your injury. I ruptured my tendon playing rugby around the same time as you.  I'm 9 weeks post op now. I'm curious about your progress. I can bike and walk (with slight limp). I've got passive range of motion to 95-100 degrees (15-20 more degrees when I push it).  I can single leg press ~100lbs for sets of 10 reps.  Still have frequent pain, mostly where the shin anchors are located. Pretty constant heat and swelling in the joint.

Are you experiencing similar symptoms/issues with swelling and ROM?
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Orthopedics Community

Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out if PRP therapy right for you.
Tips for preventing one of the most common types of knee injury.
Tips and moves to ease backaches
How to bounce back fast from an ankle sprain - and stay pain free.
Patellofemoral pain and what to do about it.
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.