Jumper's Knee Pain

Jumper’s Knee Causes

Jumper's knee causes are believed to be due to repetitive stress placed on the patellar or quadriceps tendon during jumping.  Whether you participate in jumping sports or not, you can get jumper’s knee.  Risk factors include increased body weight, being bow-legged or knock-kneed, having an abnormally high kneecap or an abnormally low kneecap, and legs of unequal length.  Some common jumper’s knee causes include:

• Repeated stress on the tendon that connects the kneecap to the shinbone
• Intense or frequent participation in physical activities such as jumping or running
• A sudden increase of the intensity of impact on the leg, such as during sports
• Tight muscles in the legs, as well as reduced flexibility in the thighs and hamstrings
• Imbalanced muscles, meaning that if you work out some muscles more than others, the strain on your patellar tendon could cause jumper’s knee pain
• The use of steroids often makes muscles and tendons weaker, causing jumper’s knee
• Arthritis, specifically rheumatoid, which causes inflammation of the knee joint

Jumper’s Knee Symptoms

Jumper’s knee symptoms can include:

• Pain in the patellar tendon only after activity
• Non debilitating pain in the patellar tendon area during and after activity
• Prolonged pain in the patellar tendon area during and after activity, with increasing difficulty in being able to perform the activity
• Progressively increasing pain in the patellar tendon area that prohibits you from participating in activities

Jumper’s Knee Treatment

When looking for jumper’s knee treatment, immediate relief is what is typically sought.  This often comes in the form of rest and support or compression.  Jumper’s knee treatment, however, should also include stretching and strengthening exercises that will provide long term healing.

Whether you have just started to feel jumper’s knee symptoms, or you have been experiencing them for a while, the following jumper’s knee treatment options can help get you back in the game:

Immediate Relief

Support

• Cho-Pat® Original Knee Strap – This provides support, mobility, and comfort to the user during activities that involve the knee.

• Cho-Pat® Dual Action Knee Strap – The Dual Action Knee Strap delivers support both above and below the knee.  The dual support provides Dynamic Pain Diffusion to reduce the amount of force that is placed on the knee, decrease the chance of misalignment or displacement, and improve tracking.

Long-Term Healing

Stretch

• StretchRite® –StretchRite offers a comfortable, more effective stretch than ever before, improving flexibility to promote healing in the knee.