Patellar Tendinitis
Patellar tendinitis, also known as jumper’s knee, is an injury affecting the tendon which connects the kneecap to the shinbone. This tendon is frequently used as it allows movement of the legs via the quadriceps, which results in it coming under a lot of stress. Over time this stress can result in small tears before eventually the area will start to become inflamed.
The reason why some people decide to call the injury jumper’s knee is due to the fact that jumping is a common cause of this injury. The tendon is a key part throughout the jumping motion and when the athlete moves, it stretches. If the tendon overstretches, the small tears can appear and this is where the injury begins.
Symptoms
The obvious symptom of this injury is pain around the patellar tendon – near the kneecap and where the tendon attaches to the shinbone. The pain is likely to be quite severe during exercise but will become milder once the athlete rests. In worse cases, the athlete is likely to experience something of an aching feeling all day, everyday – regardless of whether or not they’re exercising.
Certain movements prompt worse pain and one such is walking up and down stairs. The motions involved in this are similar to a person jumping, which as stated earlier, is a key cause of this injury.
Causes
Patellar tendinitis is classed as an overuse injury and is caused by the patellar tendon being subject to lots of small tears. These tears cause inflammation in the area and like with most injuries, this inflammation causes pain to the sufferer.
As for what can cause these tears, medical experts are not entirely sure. Frequent and intensive exercise is likely to play a big part as this will put excess pressure on the tendon, making it vulnerable and tears likely. Another cause can be a person’s weight, as obviously someone who’s heavy is putting more pressure on the tendon which again makes it more susceptible.
A lot of people suffer from this injury through a muscular imbalance as well. This means that some muscles in the leg are stronger or bigger than others – which will put unnecessary pressure onto other areas, like the patellar tendon. The likelihood is that the stronger muscles will pull on the tendon to try and balance the leg, which will consequently cause tears. A similar cause is a raised kneecap, whereby the person’s patella is higher than it should be. Again, this means that the patellar tendon will be under more strain, increasing the risk of these tears occurring.
Treatment
There is plenty of treatment for patellar tendinitis yet unfortunately, it’s an injury that can take a while to heal. The recovery time for people varies with some being lucky enough to recover in a few weeks, others a few months and a few being unfortunate enough to have it last for a year or more.
If the injury isn’t too severe, many people are happy to proceed with conservative treatments. One such treatment is rest, meaning that the athlete doesn’t avoid all physical exercise, but doesn’t put any pressure on the tendon itself. Sports massages are another option, while aids such as a patellar tendon strap are likely to relieve pain and also improve recovery times.
Some people opt to use medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs, yet there is currently no evidence to suggest that this treatment will be successful. Extracorporeal shock wave therapy is also an option that people consider but again the success of such treatments is unknown.
If conservative methods fail, most people progress onto surgery. This option is only usually taken if none of the above methods have proved successful and the injury hasn’t improved within six months. Unfortunately, there is no set surgical procedure for this injury and the method could vary from simply repairing the tears, to completely removing some damaged parts of the tendon. It’s thought that the majority of people will recover six to twelve months after surgery, although a high percentage will still experience pain and their situation may not have improved.
Prevention
The best way to help prevent this injury is to condition the tendon. This will probably mean visiting a medical expert and asking for exercises that will stretch the muscles around the area and also strengthen the patellar tendon. By improving the area in this way, the athlete will be minimizing the risk of tears occurring.
If the athlete believes the injury is due to sporting activity, the best advice is to try and alter their technique. As this injury is often caused by jumping, we’ll use this as an example. An athlete who frequently jumps in their sport could visit a coach, or possibly a physiotherapist, and ask for advice on how to perfect their technique and relieve stress from the patella tendon.