Jumper's Knee Treatment in Dallas & Frisco, Texas

What Causes Patellar Tendon Injuries?

Common causes of patellar tendon injuries can range depending on several factors for an individual. This complex injury is commonly associated with sports and athletes. Primarily, this injury develops in jumping athletes who endure pain in the knee joint or general knee pain and fail to cease their frequent jumping to give the injury a few days’ rest are more likely to develop jumper’s knee. The same could be said for frequent jumping and landing in the wrong position, causing the lander’s knee injury.

Although, anyone can find themselves with a patellar tendon injury simply doing regular daily activities. For instance, developing a jumper’s knee can be brought on by strenuous exercise and activities like running, jumping, kicking, bending, etc.

Sometimes the structure of an individual and how they are built can cause a jumper’s knee—for instance, developing jumper’s knee caused by the influence of tendon loading. A relatively high or low kneecap can cause impairments in an individual’s quadriceps muscles, leading to patellar tendonitis.

However, the ultimate causes leading to a jumper’s knee can generally be narrowed down to two things: failure to rest after an injury or failure to seek medical attention to diagnose jumper’s knee. When a person neglects to get physical medicine and treatment needed for knee pain involving the patellar tendon, the injury can become a case of chronic symptomatic patellar tendinopathy. Where an individual seeking a doctor to diagnose a jumper’s knee injury may only need conservative treatment, failure to have a diagnosis can often lead to surgical treatment.

What are the Symptoms of Jumper’s Knee?

The symptoms of jumper’s knee can happen unexpectedly or from overexertion of the patellar tendon. However, developing a jumper’s knee is often a painful occurrence. Jumping athletes or other individuals who are diagnosed with patellar tendinopathy may have symptoms of jumper’s knee that include:

• Pain with endurance or workouts- Individuals with jumper’s knee or patellar tendinopathy may experience sharp pain that aches below their kneecap during an exercise or while performing physical endurance activities. The pain in the knee or tendon may worsen with the same repetitive impact and recede with a few days’ rest. The pain could become unbearable if left untreated.
• Swelling- Frequently in injuries, swelling is likely to occur. In fact, most patellar injuries, like jumper’s knee, often cause swelling to some degree of the knee joint. When swelling is present in the knee, an individual may have less range of motion. In cases like these, having a jumper’s knee diagnosed sooner may prevent surgical treatment compared to those who wait to seek medical attention.
• Bruising- When an acute injury happens, discoloration of the knee joint may become visible immediately in extreme cases where a jumper’s knee occurs.
• Pain with regular activities- Given the knee joint and the knee structure, performing daily activities like walking, running, and bending all require the patellar tendon to extend the knee to make this motion. When performing daily activities becomes painful to the knee, jumper’s knee may be present.

Patellar Tendonitis vs Patellar Tendinopathy

Patellar tendonitis is inflammation that occurs on the tendon. In patellar tendinopathy, the tendon has a degenerative disorder of collagen protein. The two happen to be very different but often are commonly used together mistakenly.

How to get a Diagnosis for Knee Pain?

If you suspect that you have sustained a knee injury, you should consult with a medical physician. Typically, a physical exam occurs to diagnose jumper’s knee; in this discussion, a patient’s medical history is reviewed after x-rays or MRIs are taken of the patellar tendon, thus performing a clinical diagnosis to treat jumper’s knee.