Jumpers Knee

The best way to reduce pain from an overused patellar tendon is to release as much tension as possible from your leg muscles...you need to combine stretching with self-massage - Martin Koban

Jumpers Knee
Jumpers Knee

image by: 2017 Canada Summer Games

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The REAL Jumper's Knee

Many athletes deal with the condition known as "jumpers-knee" which is pain or inflammation down at the bottom of the knee. Any time you see an athlete wearing a knee strap they're wearing it for this form of patellar tendonitis. The strap takes pressure off the patellar tendon and tends to lesson the pain.

One mistake I think a lot of therapists, sports MDs, coaches, and athletes make is not differentiating between different types of patellar (knee) tendonitis. I don't consider myself a therapeutic expert but this is just something I've noticed over the years. Oftentimes any sorta knee pain gets dumped into the category of "patella femoral pain" or "jumpers knee." Technically when…

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 The REAL Jumper's Knee

In my experience the "normal" type of lower patellar tendonitis is most likely to occur in non strength trained athletes. In fact one of the most effective treatments for it is strengthening the quadriceps. In contrast, superior patellar tendonitis usually occurs in people that strength train regularly while simultaneously engaging in explosive jumping activity.

4-Stage Management Program for Jumper's Knee

Isometric exercises have been proven to provide immediate pain relief in patella tendinopathy.

FitToPlay.org

In technical language, jumper's knee is also known as patellar tendinitis, patellar tendinosis, or patellar tendinopathy (painful tendon).

ITF Tennis

It is a common complaint in tennis players due to the explosive muscle contractions needed for the sprinting, jumping and quick changes of directions during tennis. Poor flexibility of the quadriceps (thigh muscles), hamstrings and variations in leg and foot type (knock knees, bow legs, flat feet etc.) can contribute to extra load on the tendon and development of jumper’s knee.

JumpScience

It can be tricky to find the appropriate amount of physical stress that will promote repair in the quad tendons and not just break them down more. It will likely require some trial and error. Use pain as your guide. With tendinosis, if an exercise hurts it’s probably putting more stress on the tendon than you want. Try out some of these exercises and find a couple that allow you to get some good work in on your quads without hurting your knees.

NCSF Personal Trainer Blog

Unfortunately, the full process of rehab and recovery can be relatively long for jumper’s knee; lasting up to a year among those prone to the issue. Ceasing the actions that caused the problem is step one.

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