JUMPER’S KNEE

Written by Nathalie, pht.

Jumper’s knee is also known as patellar or quadriceps tendinopathy. You have four quadricep muscles on the front of your thigh. These four muscles come together to form a tendon that surrounds your knee cap and continues to attach to your shinbone. This muscle group is responsible for straightening the knee and helps to bend the hip.

Symptoms of Jumper’s Knee

Jumper’s knee is characterized by an initial inflammatory response followed by degeneration. The pain often appears gradually during training. Initially, jumper’s knee may present with pain in the front of the knee, swelling and impaired function. As the condition becomes chronic, individuals may present with longstanding knee pain and muscle wasting in the quadriceps. Pain provoking activities include jumping, running and rapid changes in direction. Once symptoms are aggravated, you may notice activities such as stair climbing, walking, going from stand to sit and prolonged sitting become affected as well.

Causes of Jumper’s Knee

Jumper’s knee is very common in sports that require repetitive jumping such as basketball and volleyball. Possible causes for developing this tendinopathy include:

• Extrinsic factors: such as change in equipment, training surfaces, specific sports activities such as acceleration, deceleration and cutting, and increases in training volume without proper overloading of the tissue
• Intrinsic factors: such as range of motion of a joint, postural alignment, strength and flexibility.

How can a Physiotherapist Help?

A physiotherapist can provide you with:

• A detailed evaluation to identify which factors may be contributing to your pain
• Providing modifications to activities or suggestions to temporarily stop activities
• Exercises to help correct any postural or muscle imbalances
• An exercise program to progressively load your tendon
• Manual Therapy
• Taping strategies
• Education on how to self-manage and prevent future recurrences

If you are suffering from knee pain, do not hesitate to contact with us! Our well-trained physiotherapists are here to help you!

References:
Rudavsky, A., & Cook, J. (2014). Physiotherapy management of patellar tendinopathy (Jumper’s knee). Journal of Physiotherapy, 60(3), 122–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2014.06.022
Rudavsky, A., & Cook, J. (2014). Physiotherapy management of patellar tendinopathy (Jumper’s knee). Journal of Physiotherapy, 60(3), 122–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2014.06.022
Brukner, P., & Khan, K. (2017). Brukner & Khan’s clinical sports medicine. McGraw-Hill Education (Australia) Pty Ltd.