Interventions used for Rehabilitation and Prevention of Patellar Tendinopathy in athletes: a survey of Brazilian Sports Physical Therapists

Abstract

Objectives: (1) To identify the type and frequency of interventions used by Brazilian physical therapists to treat and prevent the occurrence of patellar tendinopathy in athletes and the criteria used to return to sport; (2) to compare the interventions used to the grade of recommendation of current evidence. Methods: Design: cross-sectional study. Setting: online survey throughout sports physical therapy association. Participants: Physical therapists who were invited to complete a structured questionnaire. Main Outcome Measures: Interventions more frequently used for treating and preventing PT in athletes and the criteria used to define return to sport. Results: One-hundred and twenty-one physical therapists participated in this study. Quadriceps eccentric strengthening (75.2%), education (61.2%) and lower limb joint/lumbo-pelvic stabilization/hamstrings stretching (59.5%) were more frequently cited for prevention purposes, while lower limb joint stabilization (81.8%), education (80.2%) and myofascial release (78.5%) were more frequently reported for treatment. The majority of the physical therapists based their decision of athlete discharge on a combination of pain intensity, function and functional test results (44.6%).

A Narrative Review Current Physical Therapy Management for Patellar Tendinopathy

“…In the future, more research needs to focus on prevention, as this would benefit decreasing the risk factors for PT in sports professionals. 8,12,18…”

Autoregulation in Resistance Training for Lower Limb Tendinopathy: A Potential Method for Addressing Individual Factors, Intervention Issues, and Inadequate Outcomes

“…A recent Delphi study of clinical practice found that there was a strong predisposition (87%) toward hip strengthening as a component of patellar tendinopathy rehabilitation programs (Morgan et al, 2018a). Similarly, a recent survey of Brazilian physical therapist practice for patellar tendinopathy reported that hip strengthening exercises were secondary only to quadriceps eccentric training in terms of the frequency of prescription (Mendonca et al, 2020a). Rehabilitation interventions focusing on improving the hip extensor muscle strength in patellar tendinopathy have shown positive outcomes.…”

Patellar Tendon Load Progression during Rehabilitation Exercises: Implications for the Treatment of Patellar Tendon Injuries

“…Exercise is the main intervention for the treatment of patients with patellar tendon injury. The single-leg decline squat is the most commonly prescribed exercise for the rehabilitation of patellar tendinopathy (7), probably because of the fact that the large majority of studies involving patellar tendinopathy patients have used the eccentric single-leg decline squat as the main exercise intervention (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). However, there is no convincing clinical evidence to demonstrate that isolated eccentric exercise improves clinical outcomes more than other loading therapies (15)(16)(17).…”