Inflammation of the patellar tendon, called patellar tendinitis, weakens the tendon. It may also cause small tears.
Patellar tendinitis is most common in people who participate in activities that require running or jumping and/or is more common in runners
It is sometimes referred to as ‘Jumper’s knee’
ASOS
Anatomy
The patellar tendon (a ligament that connects to two different bones) attaches the bottom of the kneecap (patella) to the top of the shinbone (tibia).
The patella is attached to the quadriceps muscles by the quadriceps tendon. Working together, the quadriceps muscles, quadriceps tendon and patellar tendon straighten the knee.
Tendons are strong cords of fibrous tissue that attach muscles to bones.
The patellar tendon works with the muscles in the front of your thigh to straighten your leg.
Patellar tendon tears can be either partial or complete.
Partial tears
Many tears do not completely disrupt the soft tissue. This is similar to a rope stretched so far that some of the fibres are frayed, but the rope is still in one piece.
Complete tears
A complete tear will disrupt the soft tissue into two pieces.
When the patellar tendon is completely torn, the tendon is separated from the kneecap. Without this attachment, you cannot straighten your knee.
The patellar tendon often tears at the place where it attaches to the kneecap, and a piece of bone can break off along with the tendon. When a tear is caused by a medical condition — like tendinitis — the tear usually occurs in the middle of the tendon.
The knee is a complex structure consisting of bone, cartilage, muscle, tendon, ligament, synovial fluid and nerves.
Knee pain could be the result of a problem with any one of these components, or a combination of several.
The knee can take time to heal due to generally there is poor blood supply in that area, X-rays will show some obvious conditions, tendons and ligament damage is difficult to diagnose on x rays, further investigation i.e a MRI scan maybe required.
Each condition have different healing times, a specialist in that healthcare field will monitor your healing time and should guide you to obtain optimum healing time as this can can from individual to individual.
Please see your Medical Doctor If symptoms not improving after a week or one is in a lot of pain
Cause
Jumping and running sports or after a workout one has a dull pain in the area
This tends to affect active adolescents. It is an inflammation of a growth plate under the attachment of the patella tendon to the kneecap.
The symptoms include pain near the bottom of the kneecap accompanied by swelling and tenderness around the kneecap.
Lateral Patellar Facet overload syndrome
A dull aching pain underneath, around the sides or below kneecap.
It is caused by increased pressure on the lateral facet of the patella. The reason for this is improper tracking, poor alignment or dislocation of the kneecap.
The condition is often apparent during repetitive exercise such as climbing stairs.
Popliteus muscle injury
A thin triangular muscle located in the depression at the back of the knee joint, called the popliteal fossa.
Exercise or trauma may cause injury to the popliteus muscle.
If the muscle is injured you may feel tenderness when rotating your leg inwards.
Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice
Detailed Information
Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Patellar Tendonitis in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).
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