Q: My doctor recently told me that I have patellar tendonitis in my left knee. I just started my basketball season and was wondering if there is anything I can do to lessen the pain? Do I have to stop playing?
A. Patellar tendonitis is a fairly common problem either in the acute form or a chronic condition in athletes involved in repetitive jumping sports like basketball and volleyball. In most cases, there is a predisposing physical impairment in patellar tracking causing tendonitis.