Patellar tendinitis
Definition:
Patellar tendinitis is an injury that affects the tendon connecting your kneecap (patella) to your shinbone. The patellar tendon plays a pivotal role in the way you use your leg muscles. It helps your muscles extend your knee so that you can kick a ball, run uphill and jump up in the air.
Patellar tendinitis is most common in athletes whose sports involve frequent jumping — such as basketball and volleyball. For this reason, patellar tendinitis is commonly known as jumper's knee. However, even people who don't participate in jumping sports can experience patellar tendinitis.
For most people, treatment of patellar tendinitis begins with physical therapy to stretch and strengthen the muscles around the knee.
Symptoms:
Pain is the first symptom of patellar tendinitis. The pain usually is located in the section of your patellar tendon between your kneecap (patella) and the area where the tendon attaches to your shinbone (tibia).
The pain in your knee may:
If you experience knee pain, try self-care measures first, such as icing the affected area and temporarily reducing or avoiding activities that trigger your symptoms.
Call your doctor if your pain:
Causes:
Patellar tendinitis is a common overuse injury. It occurs when you place repeated stress on your patellar tendon. The stress results in tiny tears in the tendon, which your body attempts to repair. But as the tears in the tendon become more numerous, they cause pain from inflammation and a weakening of the tendon structure. When this tendon damage persists over more than a few weeks, it is called tendinopathy.
Complications:
If you try to work through your pain, ignoring the warning signs your body is sending you, you could cause larger and larger tears in the patellar tendon. Knee pain and reduced function can persist if the factors contributing to patellar tendinitis are not addressed, and you may progress to the more chronic state of patellar tendinopathy.
Treatments and drugs:
Doctors typically begin with less invasive treatments before considering other options, such as surgery.
Medications
Pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or naproxen (Aleve, others) may provide short-term relief from pain associated with patellar tendinitis.
Therapy
A variety of physical therapy techniques can help reduce the symptoms associated with patellar tendinitis, including:
If conservative treatments haven't helped, your doctor may suggest other therapies such as:
Definition:
Patellar tendinitis is an injury that affects the tendon connecting your kneecap (patella) to your shinbone. The patellar tendon plays a pivotal role in the way you use your leg muscles. It helps your muscles extend your knee so that you can kick a ball, run uphill and jump up in the air.
Patellar tendinitis is most common in athletes whose sports involve frequent jumping — such as basketball and volleyball. For this reason, patellar tendinitis is commonly known as jumper's knee. However, even people who don't participate in jumping sports can experience patellar tendinitis.
For most people, treatment of patellar tendinitis begins with physical therapy to stretch and strengthen the muscles around the knee.
Symptoms:
Pain is the first symptom of patellar tendinitis. The pain usually is located in the section of your patellar tendon between your kneecap (patella) and the area where the tendon attaches to your shinbone (tibia).
The pain in your knee may:
- Initially be present only as you begin physical activity or just after an intense workout
- Progress to the point that it interferes with your sports performance
- Eventually interfere with daily tasks such as climbing stairs or getting up from a chair
If you experience knee pain, try self-care measures first, such as icing the affected area and temporarily reducing or avoiding activities that trigger your symptoms.
Call your doctor if your pain:
- Continues or worsens
- Interferes with your ability to perform routine daily activities
- Is associated with swelling or redness about the joint
Causes:
Patellar tendinitis is a common overuse injury. It occurs when you place repeated stress on your patellar tendon. The stress results in tiny tears in the tendon, which your body attempts to repair. But as the tears in the tendon become more numerous, they cause pain from inflammation and a weakening of the tendon structure. When this tendon damage persists over more than a few weeks, it is called tendinopathy.
Complications:
If you try to work through your pain, ignoring the warning signs your body is sending you, you could cause larger and larger tears in the patellar tendon. Knee pain and reduced function can persist if the factors contributing to patellar tendinitis are not addressed, and you may progress to the more chronic state of patellar tendinopathy.
Treatments and drugs:
Doctors typically begin with less invasive treatments before considering other options, such as surgery.
Medications
Pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or naproxen (Aleve, others) may provide short-term relief from pain associated with patellar tendinitis.
Therapy
A variety of physical therapy techniques can help reduce the symptoms associated with patellar tendinitis, including:
- Stretching exercises. Regular, steady stretching exercises can reduce muscle spasm and help lengthen the muscle-tendon unit. Don't bounce during your stretch.
- Strengthening exercises. Weak thigh muscles contribute to the strain on your patellar tendon. Eccentric exercises, which involve lowering your leg very slowly after you extend your knee, are particularly helpful.
- Patellar tendon strap. A strap that applies pressure to your patellar tendon can help to distribute force away from the tendon itself and direct it through the strap instead. This may help relieve pain.
- Iontophoresis. This therapy involves spreading a corticosteroid medicine on your skin and then using a device that delivers a low electrical charge to push the medication through your skin.
If conservative treatments haven't helped, your doctor may suggest other therapies such as:
- Corticosteroid injection. An ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection into the sheath around the patellar tendon may help relieve pain. But these types of drugs can also weaken tendons and make them more likely to rupture.
- Platelet-rich plasma injection. An injection of platelet-rich plasma has been tried in some people with chronic patellar tendon problems. Studies are ongoing. It is hoped the injections might promote new tissue formation and help heal tendon damage.
- Surgery. If conservative approaches aren't helping after many months of treatment, in rare cases your doctor might suggest surgical intervention for the patellar tendon. Some of these procedures can be accomplished through small incisions around your knee.
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