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Health Library Home>Disease, Condition, & Injury Fact Sheets>Article

Patellar Tendinopathy

(Jumper's Knee; Patellar Tendonitis; Patellar Tendinosis; Quadriceps Tendonitis; Infrapatellar Tendinopathy; Patellar Apicitis)

by Cynthia M. Johnson, MA
En Español (Spanish Version)
Definition
Causes
Risk Factors
Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
Prevention

Definition

Patellar tendinopathy is an injury to the tendon that joins the kneecap to the lower leg bone.

Patellar Tendonitis
Nucleus factsheet image

Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.

Causes

The problem is caused by overuse.

Risk Factors

This problem is more common in teens and people under the age of 40. It is also more common in people who do things that involve jumping, such as volleyball and basketball.

Other things that may raise the risk are:

  • Having a high body mass
  • Doing too much activity too quickly

Symptoms

This problem causes pain below the kneecap. It often worse during physical activity and when flexing the knee.

The knee may also be swollen and stiff.

Diagnosis

The doctor will ask about your symptoms and health history. A physical exam will be done. It will focus on your knee. This is often enough to make the diagnosis.

Images may be done to confirm the diagnosis. This can be done with:

  • Ultrasound
  • MRI scan

Treatment

The goal is to ease pain and improve movement. This may be done with:

  • Ice and rest to ease pain and swelling
  • A knee brace to keep the knee from moving
  • Medicine to ease pain and swelling
  • Exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee

Procedures or surgery may be done if other methods have not helped.

Prevention

The risk of this problem may be lowered by slowly increasing the length and duration of activities.

RESOURCES:

The American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
http://www.sportsmed.org

OrthoInfo—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Ortho Info
http://www.orthoinfo.org

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Canadian Orthopaedic Association
http://www.coa-aco.org

Canadian Orthopaedic Foundation
http://www.canorth.org

REFERENCES:

Patellar tendinopathy. EBSCO DynaMed website. Available at:https://www.dynamed.com/condition/patellar-tendinopathy. Updated May 16, 2019. Accessed March 26, 2020.

Patellar tendon tear. Ortho Info—American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons website. Available at: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00512. Updated February 2016. Accessed March 26, 2020.

Schwartz A, Watson JN, et al. Patellar Tendinopathy. Sports Health. 2015 Sep;7(5):415-420.

Last reviewed February 2020 by EBSCO Medical Review Board Teresa Briedwell, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS  Last Updated: 3/26/2020

EBSCO Information Services is fully accredited by URAC. URAC is an independent, nonprofit health care accrediting organization dedicated to promoting health care quality through accreditation, certification and commendation.

This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.

To send comments or feedback to our Editorial Team regarding the content please email us at healthlibrarysupport@ebsco.com. Our Health Library Support team will respond to your email request within 2 business days.

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4600 38th Street
P.O. Box 1800
Columbus, Nebraska 68602-1800
T: 402-564-7118
E: info@columbushosp.org

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