I injured my knee in mid-January of this year, and waited roughly three weeks to see if it would heal by itself. When it did not, I went to an Orthopedic Doctor who shot x-rays and an MRI and diagnosed it as "a severely strained petellar tendon". His advice was that I begin physical therapy, but that nothing was required in the way of surgery. It has now been exactly 12 weeks since the injury, and 8 weeks since I began a regimen of physical therapy, and I feel there has been no (or very little) significant decrease in the level of pain I feel. I have momentary good days followed by relapses to level of pain I experienced from the beginning. I have found very little posted online regarding "strained" patella injuries, as most online forums discuss torn or partially torn patella tendons/ligaments.

Has anyone had experience with this type of injury? I recently took a medical leave of absences from my job because I am on my feet 8 hours a day, and I feel this is affecting my ability to recover. My hope is this will facilitate a faster healing time. Has anyone had a injury similar to this, and if so, what was the time frame in which your ligament healed (or until your pain level was managable enough to resume daily work/exercising)? Does anyone with medical knowledge feel that 8 weeks of physical therapy and little to no improvement means I should get a second opinion about the extend of damage to the patella tendon, or that this injury is just a slow healer. The physical therapy I attend is twice a week, and I follow the stretching and rehab exercises as prescribed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Much Thanks.