Knee Tendonitis

Tendonitis is a term used for inflammation of a tendon.  Patellar tendonitis, or jumpers knee, is inflammation of the tendon across the knee joint. Usually this happens when the knee is used in repetitive high impact movement that it is not used to yet.  This leads to irritation of the tendon, which you may feel as pain, redness and/or swelling. 

This condition can get worse if the pain is ignored, starting a cycle of constant re-irritation of the tendon. Over time this can lead to the tendon breakdown, and even tearing. 

There are multiple tendons that cross the knee joint. The most common tendon irritated is the patellar tendon.

Where is the Patellar Tendon located?

As your quadriceps muscle moves through the front of your thigh, it transitions to a tendon, wraps around the knee cap, and continues to attach to the shin bone below it.  If we label the tendon above the knee cap, that is referred to as the quadriceps tendon. If we label the tendon below the knee cap, that is called the patellar tendon.

The patellar tendon gets stressed the most in high impact activities, especially activities that involve excessive jumping. With jumping, the quadriceps contracts hard to keep the knee steady during take off and landing. If the tendon is not accustomed to this load increase, it leads to irritation and pain. 

This is why patellar tendonitis is also known as “jumper's knee” - frequent jumpers can irritate this tendon if the load is too great in the short term, whether its higher level activity for a short period of time or a lower level activity for longer periods of time.

Is there anything I can do at home for knee tendonitis?

What can we do to alleviate patellar tendon pain? Well, there are a couple things: 

• Ride a bike with little to no resistance- gentle knee motion helps promote tendon healing as blood flows to the tendon and flushes out inflammation

• Buy a patellar tendon unloader strap - compressing the tendon at a different location moves the stress to different fibers and allows inflamed fibers to heal.

• Eccentric exercise - lengthening under tension has been shown to strengthen tendons by biasing force to connective tissue vs. muscle tissue

• Invest in a muscle roller - to improve tissue flexibility in the quadriceps and reduce pull on the quadriceps and patellar tendon

• After symptoms reduce: Jump training - utilize your hips and keep your knees behind your toes on landing

Will strength training improve knee tendonitis or make it worse?

Certain resistive exercises have been shown to improve the quality of the patellar tendon and decrease pain. These have been called Heavy Slow Resistance training, or HSR:

• Use a hack squat, leg press, or squat rack 

• Start with very low weight, high reps with only mild to moderate soreness 

• Perform three times a week

• Each day slowly decrease the reps and increase the weight 

This promotes slow loading of the tendon to “train it” for high loads of pull. Consult your local Physical Therapist for more details!

Physical therapy and sports physical therapy for knee tendonitis in Brookhaven and Atlanta, GA

If you are experiencing pain from knee tendonitis contact our office to set up an evaluation.  We have physical therapists and sports physical therapists to assist you with your orthopedic rehabilitation!