Tendons connect muscles to bones. They are made of strong, flexible bands of tissue that help your bones and joints to move when your muscles contract.
Sports injuries that affect the tendons are common in football, skiing, lacrosse, hockey, rugby, running, squash, and tennis. Most tendon injuries affect areas near joints and, although they can appear to happen suddenly, in most cases they are caused by a number of tiny tears to the tendon over a long period of time.
Tendinopathy, where tendons around the knee become painful and swollen restricting movement, is usually caused by over-use or repeated minor accidents. Tendinopathy tends to be a long-term (chronic) condition and is unlikely to need surgery. It can often improve with a course of physiotherapy.
This is caused by wear and tear through over-using the knee. This in turn leads to tendon weakness and, in some cases, tiny tears in the tendon. It’s more common in people who run or jump, which is why it’s sometimes known as ‘jumper’s knee’.
Symptoms include pain at the front of the knee, made worse if you jump or hop.
Your consultant will discuss your symptoms with you and examine your knee to check for tenderness, stiffness, swelling and any difficulties with movement. In most cases, they will arrange for you to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound scan to show the extent of the injury and any damage to the surrounding area.
You may need to have treatment over a long period of time to recover completely. Your consultant will be able to discuss your options with you, which may include:
If your symptoms don’t improve, in some cases you may need to have knee tendon repair surgery.
Less common than patella tendinopathy, quadriceps tendinopathy affects the attachment of the quadriceps tendon to the top of the kneecap (patella) and is more common in older people.
Quadriceps tendinopathy is more common if you repeatedly put stress on the tendon, for example during sports such as running or football. It can, however, also be caused by sudden force affecting the tendon, for example if you suddenly speed up while running or when landing from height.
Symptoms include tenderness, swelling and pain at the front of the knee above the kneecap when the muscle is tightened. Pain may gradually become worse over a period of time.
You may need to have treatment over a long period of time to recover completely. Adrian will be able to discuss your options with you, which may include:
If your symptoms don’t improve, Adrian may advise you to have tendon repair surgery.
The kneecap (patella) tendon works alongside the muscles in the front of your thigh so that you can straighten your leg. If the tendon is torn, it can become difficult to walk or carry out other everyday activities.
You may have a partial tear (where the tendon is only partly torn) or a complete tear (where the tendon breaks into two separate parts); this means that the tendon is separated from the kneecap and you won’t be able to straighten your knee. In some cases, a piece of bone can also be torn off.
Tears can be caused by:
Symptoms include:
Your consultant will discuss your symptoms with you and examine your knee to check for tenderness, stiffness, swelling and any difficulties with movement. In most cases, they will arrange for you to have an X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or ultrasound scan to show the extent of the tear and any damage to the surrounding area.
The quadriceps tendon works alongside the muscles in the front of your thigh so that you can straighten your leg. If the tendon is torn, it can become difficult to walk or carry out other everyday activities. If you have a serious tear, you will probably need to have surgery to regain your full range of movement. Quadriceps tears are more common in middle-aged patients who take part in sports that involve running or jumping.
You may have a partial tear or a complete tear – where the muscle is separated from the kneecap so that knee can no longer straighten when the quadriceps muscle tightens.
Tears can be caused by:
Symptoms include:
Your consultant will discuss your symptoms with you and examine your knee to check for tenderness, stiffness, swelling and any difficulties with movement. In most cases, they will arrange for you to have an X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and/or ultrasound scan to show the extent of the tear and any damage to the surrounding area.
