Patella tendonitis

[Jp1983]

I've been doing the NLP for 8 months and have made substantial progress on all my lifts. My squat went from 155x5 to 295x5. A couple weeks ago I noticed some soreness in my right patella tendon and then a few days later in my left also. I posted a form check and I think this was due to a knee slide at the bottom of the squat. I tried to correct this at my work set weights but it has been difficult to execute the new movement pattern and meanwhile my patellas have continued to get worse. I really do not want to develop full blown patella tendonitis; I've had that before and it is awful. It seems like decreasing the intensity helps. The last couple workouts I decreased the weight, really focused on my form and my knees seemed less aggravated. Is this a viable strategy, to decrease the weight then work my way back up with better form, using the pain as an indicator of how quickly i can advance? Does decreasing volume help? If I did 3s instead of 5s or something? Or squatting less often? I squat 3 days a week right now with a light day in the middle. I'm 39.
Thanks,
John

[Mark Rippetoe]

You're very tall, and it's going to be difficult to stay out of your knees when you squat. But that is how you fix patellar tendonitis. No other way. This means bending over more, shoving your ass back more, and keeping your shins as vertical as possible.

[GioFerrante]

You're very tall, and it's going to be difficult to stay out of your knees when you squat. But that is how you fix patellar tendonitis. No other way. This means bending over more, shoving your ass back more, and keeping your shins as vertical as possible.

Hey Rip, is there a version of pin firing you can do with squats or box squats when the knee tendons are flaring up? Or should you just continue LP?

[Mark Rippetoe]

If there is, I haven't figured it out.

[GioFerrante]

if there is, I haven't figured it out.

I managed to piss them off a few years ago by squatting wrong, and it’s never went away. They hurt for a couple days after a squat session, and then it goes away. Then comes back after the next one. Manageable but not solvable, apparently.

[Mark Rippetoe]

That's the standard presentation of patellar tendonitis. This is why squatting correctly is so motherfucking important.

[GioFerrante]

That's the standard presentation of patellar tendonitis. This is why squatting correctly is so motherfucking important.

Is there anything that can be done to cure this at this point or do you think that I will just be dealing with it for the rest of my training career?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Correct your squat form, get the stress off the knees, and it will heal slowly. Tendonitis does not heal during a layoff.