Before Christmas, I injured doing jumps badly.
I don't think it is an acute injury. It's one of those things where the pain shows up a few hours later. It goes away and comes back again. I think that is supposed to be a sign that the pain is caused by inflammation, though, as mentioned below, I may now have a differential muscle length/tension issue that is causing off-center kneecap tracking.
My coach had said I was landing wrong. My landing foot would touch down too close to the side of my body, so my knee would bend outwards (laterally) as the landing completed. It sounds like all I had to do was to put the foot down farther from the body, so the knee could go down without lateral bend. For some reason, probably too much incorrect practice, this proved difficult.
Fortunately, my muscles are short enough to protect my ligaments inside the knee. I believe what stretched was the line of surface muscle from the ankle, over the knee, to next to the glut, because that is where I feel tension if I push the knee that way. I feel the injury near the glut. I can also clearly feel more muscle tension on the outside (lateral side) of the leg then on the inside (medial side). If I use my hands to pull the muscles shorter on the inside, and longer on the outside, the pain goes away, so I think the injured muscle has somehow partially healed shorter, and turned this into a knee tracking problem, something I already had a tendency towards.
I haven't felt it safe to jump since. I even feel a painful stretch if I try to wind up for a spin, or drive (my car seat doesn't adjust back enough, and positions me so my knee is pushed a little to the outside when it is on the accelerator). I've stayed out of private lessons, but have kept up Adult Synchro practice.
I tried resting for a couple weeks. Then I tried "theraputic exercise", including mild stretches, mild exercise, hot and cold baths (or the equivalent in a hot tub and swimming pool, though the pool isn't really ice water), even Ibuprofen (I hate drugs). When I'm not in pain, I've tried leg presses on a weight machine.
And it works - for a few hours. But by next morning, I start to feel pain again when I get out of bed, or an hour or two later.
I'm running out of ideas. I don't understand kinesio-taping. Maybe a little athletic tape, on the leg or a knee brace, could pull the knee cap towards the inside of the leg, but I'm hesitant to do so without expert guidance.
Anyone have any ideas? Is is this a problem that needs a good PT?
And do any of you know a good Sports PT near Washington, DC? I think someone mentioned one near the University of Delaware. I need someone who can work without requiring an MRI, which I can't afford.