Theresa Chiaia, PT, DPT, Section Manager for Sports Rehabilitation and Performance Center, offers some tips to athletes to avoid the common knee injury known as Jumper’s Knee.
Jumper’s knee is a common condition in athletes who play power sports that involve jumping – such as basketball, volleyball and soccer, although anyone can have it. Also known as patellar tendinitis, jumper’s knee sounds like an inflammatory condition but it’s more due to degeneration of the tendon in the knee.
With jumper’s knee you may experience tenderness and/or pain to touch at the bottom of your kneecap along the tendon that attaches to your shinbone. If you experience this pain when running, jumping or walking up and down the stairs, consult a healthcare professional.
Prevention is key!
– Flexibility of the muscles and adequate range of motion of the joints above and below your knee help to take pressure off your tendon
– Training should include progressive resistive exercise to create a strength base of the abdominals, hips, quadriceps and gluteal muscles
If you think you have jumper’s knee, it is important to work with a physical therapist to help you decrease your pain and return you to your sport
Theresa Chiaia, PT, DPT is the Section Manager of the James M. Benson Sports Rehabilitation Center and Tisch Sports Performance Center at Hospital for Special Surgery. She has been part of the HSS Women’s Sports Medicine Centersince its inception and has guided athletes of all levels along the road to recovery and a successful return to competition.
