This is a common cause of knee pain along the front of the knee just below the kneecap. Running and jumping sports like basketball, volleyball, and soccer are common sports to develop this problem. While it can be quite painful and difficult to treat, there are many effective ways to treat this condition. Exercise based treatments such as stretching and strengthening remain the foundation of managing and improving the symptoms
Patellar Tendonitis (Jumpers knee)
The Patella tendon runs from the bottom of the knee cap down to the upper portion of the tibia. It is a common area of pain in running and jumping sports. Many of the sports injured patients we see with this condition play basketball, volleyball, or gymnastics due to the amount of jumping in these sports.
Once jumpers knee pain starts, it can take weeks to months to improve. Its a frustrating problem for many athletes because it can improve and then recur many times before completely resolving. Many times this occurs due to overuse and also muscle strength and flexibility imbalances affecting the hip and knee play a role in the development of this condition. This condition is commonly misdiagnosed or missed and not always recognized as a frequent cause of knee pain.
There are many effective ways to treat this problem non-surgically including braces, exercises, medications, activity modifications, and orthobiologics. At Sports Health Northwest, we offer a variety of interventional treatment options including platelet rich plasma and percutaneous tenotomy using ultrasound guidance to help active individuals treat and recover from this condition so that you can return to full, pain free activity.
