Epidemiological Patterns of Patellofemoral Injuries in Collegiate Athletes in the United States From 2009 to 2014

Abstract

Background: As many as 30% of patients with knee pain seen in sports medicine clinics have complaints related to the patellofemoral joint. There is a paucity of research available regarding patellofemoral injuries, mechanism of injury, and playing time lost in collegiate athletes. Purpose: To describe the rates, mechanisms, severity, and potential sex-based differences of patellofemoral injuries in collegiate athletes across 25 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) sports. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Methods: Data from the 2009-2010 through the 2013-2014 academic years were obtained from the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program and were analyzed to calculate patellofemoral injury rates, mechanisms of injury, time lost, and need for surgery. Rate ratios and injury proportion ratios were used to quantify discernible differences between sex-comparable sports and timing of injury (ie, practice vs competition), respectively. Results: The overall patellofemoral injury incidence rate was 16.10 per 100,000 athlete-exposures (AEs). Women’s volleyball had the highest incidence of all sports (39.57 per 100,000 AEs). Injuries were 66% more likely to occur in competition than during practice. Female athletes experienced significantly more patellofemoral injuries than males in similar sports. Patellar tendinitis accounted for 49.2% of all patellofemoral injuries and was the most common injury in 20 of 25 studied sports. Patellar subluxation accounted for the most total days missed, and patellar dislocation had the highest mean days missed per injury (11.42 days). Patella fracture was the most likely injury to require surgery (80%). Conclusion: Patellofemoral injuries were most common in sports that require jumping and quick changes of direction, specifically women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s soccer. The majority of patellofemoral injuries in this cohort were classified as patellar tendinitis caused by overuse. Most injuries resulted in no competition or practice time lost. This information may contribute to the development of prevention programs aimed at addressing the most prevalent types and mechanisms of injury in each sport to reduce the incidence of patellofemoral injury in these athletes.

Anterior Knee Pain Risk Differs Between Male and Female Military Tactical Athletes

“…In athletic populations patellar tendinopathy has been suggested to be related to decreased knee and hip range of motion during functional tasks. 34 While the physical requirements across military occupations are unknown, evaluating the daily demands might provide insight into the high rate of this condition. Nonetheless, implementation of load management and eccentric training may be warranted as a treatment program for those servicemembers presenting with patellar tendinopathies.…”

“…Most of the established incidence rates have been reported in military recruits and cadets enrolling in a 6-week to 25-week training program, which may explain the wide range incidence rates in the previous studies. [12][13][14][15][16] Increased physical demands and over-use likely contribute to the development of AKP, 34 as incidence rate of AKP is greatest in the early phases of training and decreased after the first month of training. 15 AKP does account for the largest cause of medical discharge from military recruits, 11 however, there is limited evidence evaluating AKP in services members beyond their initial training.…”

Anterior Knee Pain Risk in Male and Female Military Tactical Athletes

“…Most of the established incidence rates have been reported in military recruits and cadets enrolling in a 6-week to 25-week training program, which may explain the wide range of incidence rates in the previous studies. [9][10][11][12][13] Increased physical demands and over-use likely contribute to the development of AKP, 32 as the incidence rate of AKP is greatest in the early phases of training and decreases after the first month of training. 12 AKP does account for the largest cause of medical discharge from military recruits, 8 however, there is limited evidence evaluating AKP in services members beyond their initial training.…”

THE MOST COMMON INJURIES IN VOLLEYBALL AND THE STRATEGIES TO PREVENT THEM. Literature review

“…Sometimes preventing injuries lead to change the rules of game but this fact is impossible. A relative solution for overused injuries will be to monitor training load, use appropriate strength and technique and practice lot of stretching or flexibility (Hreljac A et al, 2000). Generally supporting equipment like brace and tape are using to prevent injuries in volleyball (but not only) even though there are no studies that prove this fact (Verhagen EA et al, 2000).…”