Quadriceps tendinopathy: a review—part 1: epidemiology and diagnosis

Abstract

Overuse injuries of the extensor mechanism of the knee are common in both athletes and nonathletes and usually occur during activities associated with repetitive loading, stress, and knee extension.Historically, they have been labeled as Jumper's knee due to the high prevalence seen in the athletic community. In many published reports, the name "patellar tendinopathy" is used to describe this disorder of the quadriceps tendon at the patellar insertion, and the names are often used interchangeably. Numerous reports have been published describing extensor mechanism injuries in athletes, but there is a paucity of studies that focus on quadriceps tendinopathy. In addition, there is no universally accepted classification system for tendon pathology. Therefore, we performed a comprehensive literature review of these studies. This review consists of 2 parts. In the first part we review: (I) epidemiology and (II) diagnosis of quadriceps tendinopathy in the athlete as well as the general population. In the second part we discuss: (I) classification;(II) prognosis; and (III) treatment results.

Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography in the assessment of anterior knee pain

“…To the best of our knowledge, detection of quadriceps tendon pathology has been reported while commonly referring to the quadriceps tendon tear in athletes, and most of the related literature focused only on MRI [25,28]. In this study, ultrasonography showed 87.5% sensitivity, compared to 72.5% reported by King et al [29].…”

Proceedings Ciencias Multidisciplinarias

“…La tendinopatía degenerativa constituye un problema sanitario importante en México, debido a que representa más del 50 % de lesiones a nivel musculoesquelético (Ibarra et al, 2013). Es un padecimiento asociado a la edad y al sobreuso con mayor frecuencia en deportistas que limita la funcionalidad del paciente, resistente y recurrente al tratamiento debido a la poca irrigación del tendón, ocasionada principalmente por un sobreuso lo cual genera microtraumatismos y degeneración en el tejido (King et al, 2019;Martin et al, 2018). El daño en el tejido se manifiesta por cambio en la coloración del tendón, apoptosis celular, agotamiento de tenocitos, fibroblastos redondeados con una incorrecta distribución en el tejido, desordenamiento de las fibras de colágeno, aumento de la sustancia fundamental que limita el correcto deslizamiento de estas, vascularización de la matriz extracelular y una mayor proporción de fibras de colágeno tipo III (Franchi, 2007).…”

Is There a Relationship Between Quadriceps Tendinopathy and Suprapatellar Plica? An Observational Case Series

“… 1–3 It is characterized by activity-related anterior knee pain with localized tenderness at the superior border of the patella. 1 , 4 Overloading of the knee extensor mechanism is considered being a crucial etiological factor. 1 , 5 Particularly repetitive squatting and prolonged knee flexion during activities such as weightlifting, football and volleyball have been associated with this condition.…”

“… 1 Non-operative treatment using different types of loading regimens is first-line treatment, and when surgery is needed intra-tendinous revision surgery is commonly used. 1 , 4 , 6 Compared to the more common patellar tendinopathy, there is sparse scientific knowledge about the pain mechanisms related to this condition. Quadriceps tendinopathy is therefore often misdiagnosed as patellar tendinopathy.…”