Aargh!

I was on my last set of the 1/2 squats from the Tiger Moves last Tuesday and a pretty sharp pain flared up in my right knee. It wasn't debilitating, just painful, so I stupidly finished out the last three reps of the set and just kind of ignored it. It got progressively painful through the rest of the day and was really sore that night.

The next morning, it was really bad. I could barely get down the stairs. It didn't hurt to walk or stand on it but was extremely painful to bend it. I found when I got to work that it also really hurt to sit at my desk. Having it bent, even with no weight on it, made it sore.

The pain is centered under the kneecap. It particularly hurts to press on the kneecap, both down into my leg as well as towards my foot. I did some research on-line, and, best as I can tell, it is patellar tendinitis. It fits in location and how it feels. My knee isn't loose and isn't swollen.

The only way to treat it is RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation). About mid-morning, I ran to Wal-Mart and bought some ibuprofen and a knee brace. I put the knee brace on and made it through the rest of the day. I then went home and put my leg up and iced it for a long time. I even wore my brace to bed (which was good when I had to jump and grab the cleaning stuff when Pearl yakked in the hallway at 2 AM).

This morning my knee felt 100% better. I still can't bend it with my weight on it, but it doesn't hurt to sit or have it bent unloaded. I think a couple more days of RICE and I should be okay. I need to get the muscles around it stronger and get in the habit of stretching, even with the Tiger Moves.

Okay, it's not like I blew an ACL or something, but I have been extremely frustrated lately. I have never been so motivated to get into good shape before. I have so much I want to do with my family - trail riding, hiking, running a 5K with J in June, etc. I keep running up into all these stupid little injuries though and I am running out of time.

I'm thinking that I am just going to have to focus on diet for now while I let this and my elbow rest. Losing 20 pounds would go a long ways to making it easier to run or ride. I also need to find some exercises to strengthen my joints.