Patellar Tendinitis

Description

Patellar Tendinitis is an injury to the tendon that connects the kneecap to the tibia. The patellar tendon works with the muscles in the front of the thigh to extend your knee so that you can kick, run and jump.

Patellar tendonitis also known as jumper's knee, is most common in athletes whose sports involve frequent jumping — such as basketball and volleyball. However, even people who are not involved in sports break can get patellar tendinitis.

For most people, the treatment of patellar tendinitis begins with physical therapy to stretch and strengthen the muscles around the knee.

Symptoms

The pain is the first symptom of patellar tendinitis, usually between the patella and where the tendon attaches to your shin bone (tibia).

Initially, you can only feel pain in the knee starting any physical activity or right after an intense workout. Over time, the pain worsens and begins to interfere with the practice of their sport. Finally, the pain interferes with your daily movements such as climbing stairs or rising from a chair.

When to see a doctor

For knee pain, try self-care steps, such as ice in the area, and temporarily reduce or avoid the things 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 around the joint

Causes

Patellar tendonitis is a common overuse injury, caused by repeated stress on the patellar tendon. The stress results in tiny tears in the tendon, which your body attempts to repair.

But as the tears in the tendon multiply, they cause pain from inflammation and weakening of the tendons. When this tendon damage persists for more than a couple of weeks, it is called tendinitis.

Risk factors

A combination of factors that may contribute to the development of patellar tendinitis, including:

  • The physical activity. Running and jumping are most commonly associated with patellar tendinitis. The sudden increase in how hard or how often you engage in the activity will also add to the stress on the tendon, such as changing your running shoes.
  • Tense the muscles of the leg. Tight thigh muscles (quadriceps) and hamstrings, which run up the back of the thighs, you can increase the tension in the patellar tendon.
  • Muscle Imbalance. If some muscles in your legs are much stronger than the others, the stronger muscles could pull more on your patellar tendon. This uneven extraction could cause tendinitis.
  • Chronic disease. Some diseases disrupt the flow of blood to the knee, which weakens the tendon. Examples include renal insufficiency, autoimmune diseases such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis and metabolic diseases, such as diabetes.

Complications

If you try to work through the pain, ignoring your body's warning signs, it could cause increasingly large tears in the patellar tendon. The knee pain and reduced function may persist if you do not tend to the problem, and can progress to the more severe tendinopathy patellar.

Prevention

To reduce your risk of developing patellar tendonitis, follow these steps:

  • Do not play through pain. As soon as you notice relating to the exercise of the knee pain, ice the area, and the rest. Until your knee is pain-free, avoid activities that put stress on the patellar tendon.
  • Strengthen your muscles. Strong thigh muscles are more capable of handling the stress that can cause patellar tendinitis. Eccentric exercises, which involve the reduction of his leg very slowly after extending the knee, are very useful.
  • To improve your technique. To make sure that you are using the body correctly, consider taking lessons or getting professional advice when starting a new sport or the use of exercise equipment.

Patellar Tendinitis

Diagnosis

During the exam, your doctor may apply pressure to the parts of your knee to determine where it hurts. Generally, the pain of patellar tendinitis is in the front of the knee, just below the kneecap.

Imaging tests

Your doctor may suggest one or more of the following imaging tests:

  • The x-rays. X-rays help to rule out other bone problems that can cause pain in the knee.
  • Ultrasound. This test uses sound waves to create an image of your knee, revealing the tears in your patellar tendon.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Magnetic resonance imaging uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images that can reveal subtle changes in the patellar tendon.

Treatment

Doctors usually start with less invasive treatments before considering other options, such as surgery.

Drugs

Pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve, others) may provide short-term relief of 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 spasms and help lengthen the muscle-tendon unit. Do not bounce during the stretch.
  • The strengthening exercises. Weak thigh muscles contribute to the tension in the patellar tendon. Exercises that involve the reduction of his leg very slowly after extending this can be particularly useful, as they can be exercises that strengthen all of the muscles of the leg in combination, such as the leg press.
  • Patellar tendon strap. A strap that applies the pressure on your patellar tendon can help to distribute the force outside of the tendons and direct through the strap in place. This may help to relieve the pain.
  • Iontophoresis. This therapy involves the dissemination of a corticosteroid medication in your skin, and then, using a device that provides a low electrical load to push the medication through your skin.

Surgical and other procedures

If conservative treatments don't help, your doctor may suggest other therapies, such as:

  • The injection of corticosteroids. An ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection into the sheath around the patellar tendon may help to relieve the pain. But these types of drugs can weaken the tendon and make it more prone to rupture.
  • Platelet-rich Plasma injection. This type of injection has been tried in some people with chronic patellar tendon problems. Studies are in progress. It is expected that the injections can promote the formation of new tissue and help heal the damage of the tendon.
  • Oscillation of the needle of the procedure. This outpatient procedure is performed with local anesthesia. The doctor uses ultrasound imaging to guide a small oscillation of the needle that cuts the damaged area, avoiding healthy tendon. This is a relatively new procedure, but the results have shown promise.
  • Surgery. In rare cases, if other treatments fail, your doctor may suggest surgical debridement of the patellar tendon. Some procedures can be performed through small incisions around the knee.

Self-care

If your knee hurts, you should consider the following:

  • Pain relievers. Over-the-counter medicines such as ibuprofen and naproxen sodium may provide short-term to relieve the pain.
  • Avoid the activity that causes the pain. You may have to practice their sport less often, or change temporarily to a lower impact on the sport. Work through the pain it can cause more damage to your patellar tendon.
  • Of ice. Apply ice after the activity that causes the pain. Place the ice in a plastic bag and wrap the bag in a towel. Or try ice massage. Freeze water in a cup of foam plastic and hold the glass that apply ice directly on the skin.

Preparing for your appointment

If you have knee pain during or after physical activity that do not improve with ice and rest, consult your doctor. After an examination, your doctor may refer you to a specialist in sports medicine.

Here is the information to help you prepare for your appointment.

What you can do

  • The list of your symptoms and when they began.
  • Make a note of the key medical information, including other conditions you have and medications and supplements that you take.
  • Registration of the typical daily activity, including the duration and intensity of the practice of sport or other exercise. Note: if you have recently changed their activity, how hard or frequency of your job, or your computer, such as running shoes.
  • Note any recent injuries that may have damaged the knee joint.
  • Write questions to ask your doctor to help you make the most of their time together.

Below are some basic questions to ask a doctor who is examining you for possible patellar tendonitis. If additional questions occur to you, do not hesitate to ask.

  • What is the most likely cause of my symptoms and signs?
  • Need proof?
  • What treatment do you recommend it?
  • With the treatment, I will be able to play my sport, and how long will treatment take?
  • What exercises can I do this safely while they heal, if any?
  • What self-care measures should I take?
  • You should see a specialist?

What to expect from your doctor

Your doctor may ask you questions, including:

  • Are your symptoms get worse?
  • How severe is your pain?
  • The pain occur before, during, or after your workouts — or is it constant?
  • Is the pain associated with the swelling of the knee, locking, or buckling?
  • Are the symptoms that affect your ability to exercise or climb stairs, or do other activities?
  • Have you tried the at-home treatments? Nothing has helped?
Symptoms and treatment of Patellar tendinitis