Need serious advice on dealing with persistent patella tendonitis. Been ailing me on-and-off for ~6 months, during which I've been doing strengthening exercises (mostly hip/quad/hamstring), doing ultrasound and electro-stim, and icing.
Just saw a new doctor who prescribed voltaren gel, and is sending me to an MRI to rule out a significant tear in the tendon. He gave me a knee support brace that should help take some load off the tendon. Bone alignment & integrity looks fine on X-ray. I MRI shows significant tear, will likely need surgery, but until then, I'll be going for additional PT (just more ultrasound and stim).
Unfortunately, I have a separate medical condition that prevents me from taking NSAIDs and other anti-inflammatories.
Anyone out there have advice on how else to proceed? Any good exercises or massage technique suggestions? Currently in the pit of despair and looking for third/fourth/nth opinions.