What is Knee Tendinitis?

The technical name for Knee Tendinitis is Patellar Tendinitis. This condition usually arises when the inflammation occurs in Patella. This causes a problem in the tendon which connects the shinbone to the kneecap. There are various tendons that are around the knee, and when most of these tendons get inflammation, the resulting situation is called Patellar Tendinitis. The joint mechanism that gets affected, in case of Patellar Tendinitis is the patella tendon and its adjacent tendons.   

Patellar Tendinitis results in pain in the joint areas which may range between mild pains to severe pains in certain cases.

Patellar Tendinitis

Causes for Knee Tendinitis

The basic reason behind Knee Tendinitis is the excessive use of the knee joint which causes tremendous stress and ending up creating minute tendon tears. These happen gradually, and due to the heavy usage of these joints in sports, the stress causes the knee joints in players to weaken. This is the main reason why sportsmen and athletes are mostly victims of this condition. There are a few other reasons that may contribute to Knee Tendinitis including:

1. Excessively tight muscles in the leg   
2. Misalignment in the lower body such as in the legs, ankles, and feet
3. Ineffective running shoes which are one which does not have sufficient padding
4. Obesity
5. Chronic Tendon related diseases that result in weakening of the Tendons.  

The Most Common Victims of Knee Tendinitis

Though Patellar Tendinitis can happen to anyone, it is a common occurrence among the athletes belonging to sports such as basketball, volleyball, track athletes and other sports that require the player to jump long or high up; thus, this disease has earned the nickname Jumper’s Knee. As a matter of fact, the percentage of elite volleyball professionals that suffer from Patellar Tendinitis is between forty to fifty percent. Another common population that is affected with Knee Tendinitis is the people belonging to the Old Age. This sprouts out of constant degeneration and deterioration of the tendons over a period of time. Another reason for this could be old age. In old age, the regenerative capability of the body is weak, and hence elderly people are prone to it. While in certain cases, injury to the Patella Tendon and insufficient healing may also become the cause for Patellar Tendinitis to spring up in people. Though, the possibility of finding a patient with Tendinitis arising out of the latter issue is bleak in comparison to its most common cause.  

Identifying Symptoms

In order for you to identify Patellar Tendinitis, there are certain key symptoms that if you are able to recognize can help you reach out for medical help at the earliest.

• The most common and easiest symptom that can help you identify Patellar Tendinitis is the presence of tenderness and recurring pain at the lower end of your kneecap.

• Pain accompanied by some inflammation and a burning sensation on the kneecap. Consequently, you would find it difficult to sit down and get up, all the more so from a squatting down position.

• Initially, the pain is most likely not be continuous and shall only appear to pose any physical activity especially jumping, running and landing.

• The tendons start to feel quite stiff and pose a hindrance in movement during advanced stages. There are certain visual symptoms like the bloated appearance of the joint.



Knee Tendinitis

Method To Cure Tendinitis Of Knees

The sort of treatment and its effectiveness largely depends on the severity of your Patellar Tendinitis. The doctors would like to start off with the simpler measure such as resting the knee, muscle strengthening exercises etc., but should these not work, various other methods can be utilized such as medication, Physical therapy as well as Surgery.            

Closing Thought ­-

Being a sportsperson brings in a lot of challenges, both physical and mental and hence its always advisable to adopt a healthier lifestyle and exercise regularly.

Share on Google Plus