Jumpers Knee – Part 2 - Health Plus Digest

After the initial weeks of healing, the more important part of the process is rehabilitation. Depending upon the extent of the damage, rehabilitation can take between 2 weeks to several months. Your physical therapist will give you exercises to do at home and to do prior to returning to your athletic activities. In the office they can use ultrasound to help reduce pain and speed the healing process. They will also teach you cross friction massage to aid in healing and reducing the formation of adhesions.

When the condition is chronic or refractory, you may have to consider surgery to be pain free. Research published in the International Orthopedics journal found that those athletes who used a platelet-rich plasma injection for the treatment of jumpers knee had satisfactory clinical outcomes with surgical intervention. (1)

Once the pain and swelling have dissipated, it’s time to start back to your athletic activities. Prior to beginning any rehabilitation exercise you should begin by gently stretching the quadricep and hamstring muscles to increase flexibility. This improves the ability of the joint to withstand the stress of jumping by being able to move through the appropriate range of motion.

Begin by cross training in sports that do not use the joint for jumping, such as swimming. You can even run in the pool to keep your cardio and muscle development without placing additional stress on the knee. Schedule days off and give your body time to heal and regenerate. Wear sport specific shoes and do weight training to improve the strength of the quadricep and hamstring muscles to improve the stability of the knee joint.

References:

(1) International Orthopedics: use of Platelet-Rich Plasma for the treatment of Refractory Jumper’s Knee

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989009/

Resources:

Kids health: Jumpers Knee

http://kidshealth.org/parent/medical/bones/jumpers_knee.html

Hughston Clinic: Jumpers Knee

http://www.hughston.com/hha/a_13_4_4.htm

CorePerformance: Jumpers Knee

http://www.coreperformance.com/knowledge/injury-pain/jumpers-knee.html

MayoClinic: Patellar Tendinitis

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/patellar-tendinitis/basics/definition/con-20024441