This is an overuse injury in athletes that do a lot of jumping in their sports (i.e. basketball, high jump or volleyball). This can also occur in individuals who had a significant increase in their training load or intensity in impact sports.
The patellar tendon is the attachment between the bottom of the knee cap (i.e. patella) and the top of the lower leg (i.e. tibial tuberosity). It attaches the thigh muscle (i.e. quadriceps) to the shin bone which allows you to straighten the lower leg. Pain is initially felt during jumping but the pain may also occur during other knee movements.
You should seek medical attention if your knee pain is sudden in onset and severe, or associated with significant swelling, redness or warmth of the knees.
Rest the knee from sports and avoid repetitive jumping. Application of ice 10 to 15 minutes at a time to the painful knee as well as taking pain medications can be helpful in managing the pain.
Our doctors are able to prescribe you pain medications. Physiotherapy may be prescribed to teach you to decrease the stress on the patellar tendon and to alter jumping and running biomechanics. Our physiotherapists may also teach you taping techniques as well as stretching and strengthening exercises for the muscles above the knee.
If necessary, you may also be prescribed orthotics to restore normal foot biomechanics if that is identified as a major contributing factor.
Other treatments include Extra-corporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) to stimulate healing at the patellar tendon as well as an Autologous Conditioned Plasma (ACP) injection.
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