On the mechanical effects of knee bandages in the therapy of patellar chondropathy

Effect of patellar strap and sports tape on pain in patellar tendinopathy: A randomized controlled trial

“…It is possible that when the pain is diminished because of a change in sensory input, as was suggested by Farkas et al. (), an athlete can continue sports participation but possibly causing more damage to the tendon. On the other hand, an orthosis might help prevent excessive tendon strain [by changing the patella‐patellar tendon angle and effective tendon length (Lavagnino et al., ) or by improving proprioception (Callaghan et al., ; de Vries et al., ), thereby causing less damage to the tendon.…”

“…A possible explanation for the finding that all orthoses – including the placebo condition – seem to cause at least some decrease in pain is that by applying any orthosis to the knee the cutaneous structures have been stimulated. This could have resulted in a change in nociceptive input what might have induced an analgesic effect (Farkas et al., ). As the effect of the patellar strap and sports tape on pain was somewhat stronger compared with the placebo condition (particularly evident in the first part of the study), the pressure exerted on the tendon might be causing the additional pain relief.…”

“…Based on the suggested working mechanisms, the use of a strap or tape can positively influence the tendon by reducing patellar tendon strain (Lavagnino et al., ) or by improving proprioception (de Vries et al., ). Their use can also have negative consequences on the tendon structure when the effect is foremost analgesic (Farkas et al., ) because athletes may continue to put high stress on the tendon since they experience less pain. There is a need for research where changes in the tendon structure as a result of wearing an orthosis are measured.…”

“…Others hypothesize that wearing an orthosis like a patellar strap or sports tape leads to improved proprioception (Callaghan et al., ; de Vries et al., ), therefore optimizing knee movement and influencing patellar tendon load (Lephart & Fu, ). A change in nociceptive (sensory) input was further suggested to lead to a decreased amount of perceived pain when wearing an orthosis (Farkas et al., ).…”

The effect of a patellar strap on knee joint proprioception in healthy participants and athletes with patellar tendinopathy

“…2,3 However, one should consider that the working mechanism of the patellar strap is not completely elucidated and the long term effect of the use of a patellar strap is unknown. It could be that when a strap causes a change in nociceptive input, 22 less pain is experienced by the subject and therefore the athlete can indeed continue sports participation. This continued sports participation might on the long term result in poor clinical outcome and more damage to the tendon since load management is very important for athletes at risk of tendinopathy to prevent a shift along the tendon continuum towards the degenerative stage.…”