Hamstring Tendonitis left knee

Timbo.  How old r u?  How long playing golf?  Any sport injury to that knee in prior years?  Do you sit long hours on the job, like at a desk or behind a wheel?

Who offered the diagnosis of HamTendonitis?  A doc, PT, or layman (you)?

What to do?  My first line of body defense is always 'more yoga', so that's my Rx for you. Focus on stretching out the hamstrings, slow and easy. If you are young, under age 35, there is a big temptation to go too fast on the yoga.  Stretching out tendons and ligaments takes much more time than building strength or loosening muscles.  Investigate 'yin yoga'.  Give yourself a good 6 month program to loosen up the leg bindings.  Best wishes.

I am 26. Been playing golf for 10 years and injured the tendon playing soccer where someone kicked my leg! No previous injuries prior to this! 2 sports doctors and 2 physios have both said Hamstring Tendonitis where hamstring connects into the the back of the knee (biceps femoris) for a year or so I couldn't walk without pain and didn't play any golf and then did lots of PT on it and improved where I could run again with a little discomfort afterwards! Golf is fine when I play and I don't feel it but then after the round it feels really tight and goes really sore the next day and week after! I have an office job and do lots of driving so majority of time is spent sitting! Am I ok to stretch it when it's painful or need to wait until pain eases off?

[quote name="Dpt2005" url="/t/81317/hamstring-tendonitis-left-knee#post_1127931"]Hey Tim. I just had a couple questions to see if I may be able to help any. 1. How long ago was the injury? 2. Any hip/knee injuries prior? 3. What had you been doing with the PT that worked and didn't work? 4. Any prior strengthening/stretching routine? Any current strengthening/stretching routine? 5. How is your range of motion of the knee, hip, hamstring? Do you feel tight or limited in your motion? 6. Lastly, what motion or activity will you notice the pain and what do you do to relieve it? Thanks.[/quote] Hi, 1. The original injury from soccer was 3 years ago! The pain I have is around/above the bone on the outside/ back of knee! I have had 3 MRI scans one of those showed a problem with the biceps femoris tendon! 2. No hip or knee injuries prior to that! 3. Initially the first PT I went through did strengthening on a knee extension machine but that didn't solve it! Second PT I have been through was for about 12 months and seemed to clear the problem for a while! It consisted of lots of strength exercises such as body weight squats, lunges and eccentric loading of the tendon! 4. I usually try to do 5-6 body weight squats before a round! 5. Range of motion is poor as it hurts to fully bend the knee hip range seems ok! Hamstring feels a little tight! Cycling is a no go as knee is too stiff to bend! 6. Usually feel it after about 12-14 holes of golf, if the knee is bent to much then it hurts! Thanks

Yeah, Tim, the sitting for long periods of time will shorten the tissues of the legs so you gotta be proactive to keep the hammies long and strong.  So, it will be more frequent, maybe daily, and various yoga postures which will address your body from the mid-spine, down to the knees and back up the front.  Don't think all the help will come only by a narrow focus of exercises.

And i would add that the truth may be that some injury has happened which you will live with, for ages.  Eg, osteoarthritis in the knee due to the injury.  Sometime we can't know this but can only work forwards.

I'll check some UTube sites and get back here soon.  Meantime, consider an easy forward bend. Can do this fully dressed, any time.

Grab a kitchen chair and face the back of it, put your hands on the top of the chair.  Move away from the chair, keeping the hands on the chair.  Let the chair be about as high as mid-thigh.  As you move away from the chair,  your body will form an angle with  legs straight down, torso bent at the waist, hands on the chair.  Feel the stretch in the hammies.  Keep it static, no movements.  As body permits can go to 90* angle between legs and torso.  Hold this pose for 30 seconds without strain, only some tension behind the legs. Keep feet in line pointed forwards towards chair.  As distance between you and chair increases, so does the stretch. If really tight, move closer to chair.  Breathe thru nose with mouth slightly open to reduce tension in face and neck.  Can let your head drop down between the arms.  Extend the arms straight, as able.  Count slowly to 30. Done until tomorrow, or whenever you want.  Important to avoid bouncing and do not push or get aggressive with the ego.

Hi Tim. Do you get swelling behind the knee at all? I'd be curious to know if you have a baker's cyst. Some people can visibly see or feel it behind the knee, some can't. I would recommend icing it after any activity to help get any inflammation down and help with the pain.. I would say get an MRI done or enquire about a baker's cyst, which can typically occur from injuries to the surrounding soft tissue.