Tales of the vertically challenged

In a previous post I mentioned that I am annoyed by the fact that I am getting more sports injuries as I get older. The main annoyance is my knee. In short, I have patellar tendonitis aka jumper's knee. The diagram to the right is a depiction jumper's knee. And yes, I do have lightening bolt-like sensations around my knee-cap. That part of the diagram is fairly accurate. I have had this issue for over two years. Two years! I have been to the doctor twice for it and they both told me the same thing - "Rest". I have no idea what that is so hence why, two years later, I still have knee issues. I rested for about a month once. No gym. No soccer. No basketball. I still hurt. So I made the conclusion that if it wasn't going to get any worse then I should just suck it up and keep playing.

I went to a Jock Doc a few months ago and he told me to rest and limit my sports to one activity per week. I responded by asking if I DIDN'T stay off of it, would I be at risk for any permanent or severe damage. He said no. He should have lied. He should have known that I was only asking that because I had no intention on staying off my knee. I have gotten to the point where the pain while I play is no longer an issue because I'm so used to it. But the major annoyance with the severity of my condition is that the pain is not merely exercise induced. If I sleep in the wrong position, it wakes me up. I have a limited number of sitting positions that don't irritate it. I can't walk for long periods of time. I can't wear my sassy high heels as often as I'd like. Basically, I feel like I'm 80.

I have done some research on what I can do on my own to fix this problem and not really been able to find much. Has anyone ever had jumper's knee and successfully cured it? I have decided that if the only solution to fixing my knee is this "rest" thing the doctors keep talking about, then I am only left with one option - a temporary moratorium from all physical activity. I am planning this moratorium for a few months from now. Around November/December, I will be done with my fall sports seasons and will not start up again until February. I am going to make an official break from all physical activity. I am making this declaration public because if I don't, then it'll be easier to back out. I am also making this public as to forewarn all those that normally are my teammates to be prepared for the pending lapse in activities. If, at the end of my dark days, my knees are not better, I fear that I will need to go back to the doctor. When this is the case (when rest can no longer bring the swelling down), it means that the swelling in my knees can only be reduced by surgery. Yippeee horrayy! Here's to getting older...