Patellar tendonitis is an injury that affects the tendon connecting your patella to your tibia. The patellar tendon plays a pivotal role in every day and sport specific activities for example kicking a ball, pushing the pedals down and jumping (leg extension).

Patellar tendonitis is most common in athletes whose sports involve frequent jumping — for instance, basketball, soccer and volleyball players. For this reason, patellar tendonitis is commonly known as jumper’s knee. However, anyone can suffer from patellar tendinitis, whether a frequent jumper or not. The cause therefore can be seen as multi-factorial.

One cause accepted by many is mechanical impingement at the back of the tendon, as the knee bends the angle of patella to patellar tendon changes. The effect of this creates direct pressure on the back surface of the patellar tendon, commonly seen in individuals with tight hamstrings. Diagonisis must be made by a professional sports therapist or physiotherapist, common signs are pain below the patella, inflammation and ‘pain’ with increased activity.

For most people, treatment of patellar tendinitis begins with conservative approaches, evidence to support a conservative rehabilitation treatment is addressed below.

A SIMPLE REHAB PROGRAMME

WARM UP – A 5 minute progressive jog should be performed to warm up the large muscle groups to be used in the program. Cycling is another form of cardio for the client (Brukner and Khan, 2005).

FLEXIBILITY – Witvrouw et al (2001) found from their 2 year study of patella tendonitis risk factors that hamstring and quadriceps flexibility were significant risk factors. Therefore prescribing stretches are beneficial.

STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE – Sandmeier and Renstrom (1997) state that to strengthen a tendon will reduce the risk of reinjury. Cannell et al (2001) and Jonsson (2005) recommended that eccentric squats exercises, especially using the decline board to strengthen the quadriceps muscle which is essential in patella tendonitis rehabilitation. 3 sets of 10 to 15 repetitions were the average goal derived from the literature. Cook (2001) in agreement with the current literature prescribes decline squats both 1 and 2 leg. Sport specific drills were incorporated into the strength work, an appropriate goal for late stage rehabilitation. Basketball players stance is mostly a squatted position, these drills mirror game play and can be used in training. Core stability and propricoception will be a focus in this section too.

PLYOMETRICS – The mechanism of injury for patella tendonitis is repetitive jumping and landing (Prentice, 2004). To correct the jumping technique would reduce risk of injury. Using verbal cues and video analysis provides the client with feedback.

AGILITY – The use of a skipping rope is an easy exercise to incorporate into daily routines; focusing on jumping and landing correctly also improving cardiovascular fitness, coordination and strength. The sport specific drills are important to include to practice correct technique in a game situation (Krause, 1999).

TAPING – Applying pressure to the patella tendon alters the stress within the tendon (Peterson and Renstrom, 2005); this is not always effective protocol and should be based on the individual to be treated.

Please seek advice from a professional relating to any injury, this blog is to demonstrate how research can increase your knowledge and provide a detailed overview to inform your decisions.

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