So a sweaters knee is common in sports like handball, basketball but also in other sports where explosive jumping is common and is also called an insertion tendinopathy. Recovering from a sweaters knee can take a long time without proper guidance from a physical therapist.
Cause:
The knee consists of several pieces of bone. The kneecap (patella) and the tibia (Tibia). In a sweaters knee, the tendon called patella tendon that runs from the kneecap to the tibia is irritated. This irritation is caused by repeated large pulling forces. These are often called for in sports such as handball, basketball and volleyball. If the tendon is irritated for long periods of time because you continue to play sports uncontrollably, the tendon can even become so irritated that blood vessels begin to develop in the tendon itself. Thus, continuing to exercise without proper guidance from a physical therapist can cause long-term recovery. Tendon tissue often has a longer recovery time than muscle tissue has.
A tendinopathy/tendon problem often develops gradually and increases in severity over time.
The course of symptoms is often recognizable and goes as follows:
- Complaints at the start of an activity that gradually disappear. This is followed by an after reaction when the activity is over.
- Complaints at start of activity that gradually disappear but are now already recurring during the activity.
- Complaints that do not go away after the start of an activity and may be present even at rest.
Symptoms:
A sweaters knee can cause several types of symptoms. In particular, these include pain on the front of the knee, around the kneecap. When and how long the pain occurrence depends on degree of irritation of the tendon. If the tendon is very irritated, there may be pain during daily activities. Sometimes some swelling is present.
Diagnosis:
The diagnosis in a sweaters knee is made by the combination of information. This comes from the interview and specialist tests for the knee. An ultrasound or MRI may also be used to image any damage.
Treatments:
For treatment of a sweater knee or other tendon complaints, the physiotherapists at FysioFitaal Tilburg are the right place to be! After making the diagnosis, the physiotherapist will start giving appropriate advice regarding work, sports and other daily activities. Then the therapist will work with you to restore the balance between load and load capacity. This is done by using exercise therapy. Just going to the physical therapist once or twice a week won't get you there.
In addition to exercise therapy, there will be homework exercises are an important part of recovery. In addition, for severe symptoms, manual muscle techniques can be used to dampen pain.
Suffering from a sweaters knee or other knee complaints? Make an appointment now with one of our physical therapists and they will help you recover soon.
