I always enjoy the opportunity to provide professional and credible orthopedic expertise to a variety of media outlets, especially during football season. Speaking with sports reporters about injured athletes allows me to explain and help deepen public understanding of a wide variety of orthopedic sports injuries, in the hopes that the knowledge gained can be used beyond just a few lines that are read in an article or seen in an interview. But journalists aren’t always able to use the entirety of my answers to their questions, which is why I started this blog: to expand on the “hot topics” in orthopedic sports medicine in a more complete and meaningful way.
Recently, the Houston Chronicle reached out to me with questions about patellar tendon injuries after Houston Texans offensive lineman Derek Newton ruptured both patellar tendons during a game. You can read the article here. Below I’ve included answers to some of the additional questions that were asked about these specific injuries.
First, we should start off with a brief anatomy lesson. The patellar tendon is actually a ligament and connects the patella (commonly referred to as the kneecap) to the tibia, or shinbone in the lower leg. It’s part of the extensor mechanism of the knee, including the quadriceps muscles, patella and patella tendon connecting the inferior pole of the patella to the tibial tubercle. More simply stated, it assists the muscles of the leg to straighten and bend the knee.
[See: 9 Sports Injuries That Sideline Kids.]
How do patellar tendon injuries happen?
Traumatic ruptures of the patellar tendon occur when there’s a violent contraction if the quadriceps muscle is resisted while the knee is bent. The patella acts as a hinge to assist in distributing muscles forces from the thigh quadriceps muscles through the patella tendon to the tibia. In the bent knee, the patella tendon sustains tensile loads at its attachment on the lower end/inferior pole of the patella. This is the location where the patella tendon is most commonly injured.
How rare is a patellar tendon injury?
Though it can be common in professional athletes, especially football players, injuries to the patellar tendon are typically unilateral and infrequent, resulting when the patella is exposed to an eccentric (lengthening) quadriceps muscle contraction while the knee is bent as the foot strikes the ground. Traumatic patellar tendon ruptures on both sides are extremely rare and occur more commonly as a result from systemic disease.
Patellar tendon ruptures most frequently occur in tendons with long-standing irritation, tendonitis or tendinosis, causing micro trauma that leads to degeneration of the tendon over time.
[See: The Best Olympic Sport for Your Body Type.]
What is the prognosis for recovery from patellar tendon injuries, is surgery involved, what is the outlook for playing football and having normal strength again and what is the risk of patellar tendon re-injury?
The prognosis and outcome following a patella tendon rupture is closely related to the length of time between the injury and the surgical repair of it. If surgical repair of the tendon is performed immediately after injury, most patients will experience close to full recovery of knee motion, quadriceps muscle strength and function of the lower extremity.
[See: 7 Exercises You Can Do Now to Save Your Knees Later.]
Can patellar tendon injuries be career-ending or otherwise affect a football player’s career?
Absolutely. Patellar tendon ruptures are a severe insult to the knee and can result in loss of muscle strength, knee motion and function. For this reason, it is crucial for anyone who has suffered a knee injury to seek diagnosis from an expert sports orthopedic professional right away.
More from U.S. News
7 Exercises You Can Do Now to Save Your Knees Later
5 Bodyweight Exercises to Fix Your Posture
8 Lesser-Known Ways to Ruin Your Joints
Understanding Injuries of the Patellar Tendon originally appeared on usnews.com
