Jumpers Knee

Liesa Fialkowske - April 17 2022

Pain in the knee - Is this patellar tendinitis?

Shave you ever heard of jumpers knee or patellar tendinitis? Jumpers knee gets its name because it is triggered primarily by violent and intense movements and therefore often occurs when jumping. Even if you're a runner and don't participate in a jumping sport, Jumpers Knee overuse injury can still affect you. We explain what a Jumpers Knee is and what you should look out for to avoid getting this injury.

Causes of the patellar tendinitis syndrome

Patellar tendon syndrome occurs when the patellar tendon is irritated by unusual or forceful pulling. You feel the pain at the front of the knee, at the lower tip of the patella. The first symptom is usually the so-called start-up pain. It is most noticeable after standing up or when climbing stairs. Later, there is a continuous pain, a swelling at the kneecap up to a pressure pain as well as a restriction of movement.

But why are runners often affected by the patellar tendinitis, they don't jump at all? Mostly the cause is a muscular imbalance, i.e. the anterior thigh muscle is too dominant for the counterpart - the posterior thigh muscle, which leads to an increased pull on the patellar tendon and as a result to an overload. 

 "The first symptom is usually the so-called start-up pain. It is most noticeable after standing up or when climbing stairs." 

In addition, incorrect running technique can be the cause of the overload. Have you ever heard the term sedentary running posture? We often see this in untrained runners, where runners drop too low into knee flexion with each stride, and the hip is also flexed - increasing the pressure on the knee and causing a jumper's knee. However, the most common reason for athletic overloads is too high a training volume or too rapid increases in volume.

Sedentary running posture. The lower the mobility, the greater the likelihood of suffering from plantar fasciitis. This is also a good starting point for therapy and prevention. Increasing flexibility and strength of the posterior chain is ideally suited for this - among other things, eccentric training of the calf muscles can be used.

Prevent 

You want to prevent Jumper's Knee? ...then you should increase the amount of training and the training intensity only gradually and plan regeneration phasesWarm up well before the sport and avoid training on hard surfaces. It is also important to wear good sports and running shoes with appropriate cushioning and a low drop. You should do strength training and stretch regularly.

You already have pain in the front of your knee?

 ...then you should pay attention to these points:
Relief: Patellar tendinitis improves with relief, which is why you should take a sufficiently long break.

Running analysis: Use the training break to do a professional running analysis. Here you will get tips on the right shoe, the right insole and tips on running technique

functional training: Train on your weaknesses - strengthen the posterior thigh muscles and increase the flexibility of your anterior thigh muscles.

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Summary 

You can avoid heel pain by paying attention to the following points and listening to your body: 

1. mobility - you should have good mobility in the ankle joint.

2. Training control - Your running training should not overload you and you should always ensure a balance between load and recovery.

3. Shoe and insole fitting - Your shoe and insole fitting should be adapted to your individual runner profile.