Hi, Neil!
I just began running seriously in February of this year ('98) and have
enjoyed running smaller races, and for leisure/fitness. However, in
October while running a 10K, I experienced an extremely sharp pain in my
left knee. I am 32 years of age and have never had knee problems with
my left knee. I rested it for several weeks and tried to run on it
again, only to have the same pain after 2 miles. I visited the Doctor
who took x-rays and placed me on Glucosamine Sulfate. The x-rays came
back and showed a torn patellar tendon. Is there a way to rectify this
without surgery and still continue running?
Jean Durbahn
Foothill Ranch, CA
Hi Jean:
A torn tendon is not likely to be helped by a cartilage suppliment. While I have seen numerous people benefit from the use of glucosaminosulfate, their complaint related to osteoarthritis. Further, a torn tendon is unlikely to show up on an x-ray, and you should probably have an MRI to confirm. As far as your ability to recover without surgery and continue to run...well that depends on the severity of the tear. A full thickness patella tendon tear will no doubt require surgery. Your post surgical course of rehab is a bear. The surgery will shorten the tendon some, and recovering your ROM is likely to be dificult.
Good luck to you for a speedy recovery!
