PT Squared, LLC

PT Squared, LLC PT² | Melissa Roswold, PT
Evidence-based rehab 📍Madison
Creator of Love + Load™ Framework
Calm pain • Build capacity • Move confidently

my bio :)

Melissa is a licensed physical therapist who has been practicing in southern Wisconsin since 2001. She earned her Bachelor of Science-Biology/Chemistry degree in 1996 from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Master of Physical Therapy degree in 2001 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has worked in the outpatient orthopedic setting her entire career and has worked wit

h a varied population across the lifespan with a multitude of diagnoses. She has a special interest in the therapeutic exercise based treatment approach and takes pride in developing individualized treatment plans for her patients involving corrective exercises that improve their joint mechanics and movement patterns, thus ultimately improving the pain/dysfunction. Melissa is passionate about educating her patients to allow them to maximize their functional and physical performance outcomes. Her treatment approach will always include education on the condition/diagnosis. She believes in empowering her patients to facilitate healing and/or improvement in pain/dysfunction. Her philosophy is that patients who understand their condition/diagnosis and understand the rationale for the treatment plan will feel empowered and will have the best outcomes. She is dedicated to assisting her patients in achieving their functional and/or performance goals through empowerment. When Melissa is away from her job, she enjoys staying active with her husband and two daughters. She particularly likes running as well as spending her time watching her two daughters expand their talents and athleticism through their extracurricular activities of club swim and volleyball.

05/23/2026

These are just some examples of exercises that may help support your efforts to improve patellar tendon pain. 🩵

These exact exercises aren’t required, but the concepts behind them can be helpful. The goal is to improve how the entire system moves, absorbs force, and supports the knee during daily life and sport. 🔗

🦶 Ankle dorsiflexion mobility
Limited ankle mobility can increase stress at the knee during squatting, stairs, landing, and running. Improving dorsiflexion may help the body absorb and distribute force more efficiently throughout the lower chain.

💪🏼 Curtsy lunge
This challenges glute strength and pelvic control in multiple planes of motion. Better hip control can help reduce excessive knee stress and improve lower extremity mechanics during functional movement.

⭐ Star slides
This dynamic single-leg stability drill challenges balance, coordination, hip strength, and knee control while the body moves in multiple directions. Better single-leg stability creates a more efficient kinetic chain, which can help improve tolerance to the loads of daily life and sport.

Support work doesn’t replace tendon loading. It helps create a system better able to tolerate it and adapt from it. This is a key concept of my Love + Load™ framework. 🔗🩵💪🏼

As always, monitor symptoms and modify as needed. Mild discomfort during rehab can be okay, but pain should remain tolerable (generally ≤4/10).

This is the 4th post in a series on recovery from Patellar Tendon pain. Check out the other posts (easily identified by the same cover photo) to formulate a comprehensive rehab approach! Reach out with questions!

Melissa

05/22/2026

buckle up! 🥹💖

Melissa

05/21/2026

These are some of my favorite progressive loading exercises for patellar tendon pain once the tendon has calmed down enough to tolerate more than isometric and early bodyweight loading (see previous posts)💪🏼🩵

Here I’m demonstrating:
• decline squats
• step downs
• Spanish squats

Common evidence-informed loading parameters for this stage often include:
• 3–4 sets
• 6–12 slow controlled reps
• gradual progression of resistance over time
• tolerable pain levels (≤4/10)

Research continues to support progressive tendon loading to help improve tendon capacity, tolerance, and confidence over time.

The goal isn’t aggressively pushing through pain. The goal is exposing the tendon to an amount of load it can reasonably tolerate and adapt to.

Tendons usually respond best to gradual, consistent loading, NOT complete rest and not overload but a balance of Love + Load. 🩵💪🏼

Melissa

05/21/2026

Healing and recovery involve more than focused effort on just the injured body part.

Sometimes supporting the system for optimal healing looks like slowing down, feeling safe, connecting, breathing deeply, and spending time with the beings (furry like mine or not) that calm your nervous system most. 🐾

Research suggests human-animal interaction may help reduce stress and promote nervous system regulation which can support a healthier environment for healing.

🔗 supporting your system just may be the missing link to your healing!

Save for when you need a moment of calm and follow for more evidence-informed injury recovery tips!

Melissa 🩵

05/21/2026

You don’t need an MRI to begin rehab for a suspected meniscal tear. 🩵

MRIs can show us what’s happening inside the knee, but they often don’t change the treatment approach in physical therapy.

We still focus on:
🩵 calming the knee down & managing load appropriately
💪🏼 gradually rebuilding strength and load tolerance
🔗 supporting the system to help the body heal

The goal isn’t improving what the knee looks like on imaging, but rather restoring confidence, capacity, and tolerance for meaningful movement.

pain

05/20/2026

Once isometric exercises help calm patellar tendon pain (see 2 posts back), the next step is gradually rebuilding the tendon’s tolerance to load. 💪🏼

These are examples of early loading exercises using body weight only:
• Forward step-up
• Single leg chair squat
• Rear foot elevated split squat + soleus raise

At this stage, we’re not chasing “perfect.”
We’re introducing load gradually and using symptoms as feedback.

General loading parameters I often use:
• 2-3 sets of
• 8–12 reps as tolerated
• 1–2x/day
• ≤4/10 pain during exercise

A mild amount of discomfort does not automatically mean harm. Tendons often respond well to loading when the dosage matches (or slightly exceeds) their current capacity. 🩵

I also included ways to REDUCE the challenge (using pain as a guide) because meeting the tendon where it currently is matters:
⬇️ Lower step height
⬇️ Use a kickstand/pillows for assistance
⬇️ Remove the soleus raise

Within my Love + Load™ framework:
🩵 Love = calm pain enough to move (isometrics from previous video)
💪🏼 Load = progressively rebuild tendon capacity (this video is a start)
🔗 Support = improve the surrounding system so the knee tolerates more over time (more to come! Follow along!)

And remember, body weight is only the beginning. These exercises can later be progressed with handheld weights for even greater tendon and lower extremity loading as tolerance improves.

proud of me! this has been a long time coming! 🥹🩵😅
05/20/2026

proud of me! this has been a long time coming! 🥹🩵😅

05/19/2026

Patellar tendon pain doesn’t always need complete rest. Sometimes it needs the right kind of load.

Isometrics (muscle contractions held without much joint movement) can help reduce pain sensitivity at the patellar tendon while also beginning to restore tendon capacity.

Research has shown they may create an analgesic effect for some people with tendon pain, especially when symptoms are irritable.

In this reel:
• Seated knee extensions into the ball
• Wall sits
• Spanish squats

are all examples of ways to introduce tendon loading in a more tolerable way.

Within my Love + Load™ framework, this fits both the Love and Load pillars:

🩵 Love: calming an irritated tendon and reducing pain sensitivity
💪🏼 Load: beginning to rebuild tendon tolerance and strength

Recovery usually isn’t about avoiding load forever. It’s about finding the right amount your body can currently tolerate and progressing from there.

05/16/2026

When scouring the internet and sorting through injury-recovery ideas look for ways to:

🩵 Love the injured tissue enough to calm it
💪🏼 Load the tissue enough to build its capacity
🔗 Support the system enough to help it adapt

Comment FRAMEWORK and I'll DM you more details!

Melissa

05/16/2026

The noise around injury recovery on social media is LOUD.

You’ll never see me post “3 exercises to bulletproof your knees” because recovery is rarely that simple. Your body, goals, history, training load, stress, sleep, and movement patterns all matter.

If you’re an active person who feels overwhelmed by all the conflicting advice online, I’m here to help you sort through the noise, navigate the nuance, and recover smarter. 💪🏼🩵

Follow along to learn more about my Love + Load™ Framework and how I help people calm pain, build capacity, and move with confidence. 🔗

Melissa

05/16/2026

Can we take a moment to appreciate the song choice and that timing 😅🤌🏼

Ok, now let's get a bit more serious ...

The goal of the sleeper stretch isn’t forcing your wrist to the table.

We’re not chasing a “perfect” distance from the surface. We’re looking at side-to-side differences, comfortable mobility, and how the shoulder tolerates movement.

Within my Love + Load™ framework, this can fit under all 3 pillars:

🩵 Love: improving mobility and calming a stiff or irritated shoulder
💪🏼 Load: preparing the shoulder to better tolerate strengthening and movement
🔗 Support: improving mechanics and reducing compensation patterns through the neck, upper back, and surrounding structures.

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