Knee Tendinitis From High Bar Squats

Hello Dr. Jordan Feigenbaum and/or Dr. Austin Baraki,

So it seems that some knee pain has been steadily growing in intensity for a few weeks now, and reached its worst yesterday during Heavy Fives of High Bar Squats. I’m am very confident that this is patellar tendinitis. It is mostly the left knee, and can be felt most when going up stairs (the first step is always the worst). I am pretty sure I am just going to go back to Low Bar at this point. More problems have been caused by trying high bar than fixed. Even though low bar should be easier on my knees, how should I go about letting my knees get healthy again? Should I just stop squatting (other than maybe the bar to get used to low bar mechanics again) for the next week, or maybe just go light? Also, I am wondering about the effects of pause squats on patellar tendinitis, and that perhaps being something I can do until my knees feel better, if it helps keep intensity relatively higher while also not overworking the knees.

Thanks,
ColoradoMinesCole

Here’s a good resource:

Anecdotally I’ve used tempo low bar squats and topical voltaren gel for this in the past with success.

How long could somebody safely use voltaren gel, assuming 1 application 3x per week for training sessions only?

Do you have an approximate amount of time for it to go away?

Less than 2% systemic absorption, so it’s safe for essentially indefinite use. It can be used multiple times per day.

Impossible to predict.

That’s awesome. My mother has Pennsaid 2%. This seems to be specifically targeted to knee osteoarthritis.

Would this differ enough (absorption?) to not be indicated for other joints?

Would prolonged use have negative effects?

Does the typical advice to not take multiple nsaids at the same time apply for diclofenac sodium? Or rather, does the advice hold when combining nsaids if one is oral and the other is typical?

I’ve used it for “superficial” joints like knees, elbows, wrists/hands/feet, and some muscular issues, but the thinking is that it tends not to work as well for “deeper” joints like the hips or shoulders. Of course, I’m sure there’s a component of placebo regardless.

The most common adverse reactions tend to be various types of local skin reactions where the medication is applied. Systemic side effects are much more rare.

I would not use both an oral and a topical NSAID simultaneously.

Thank you for the info (sorry for hijacking)!