Risk factors for patellar tendinopathy in basketball and volleyball players: a cross‐sectional study

Abstract

Patellar tendinopathy (PT) has a multifactorial etiology, and many possible risk factors have been described in the literature. The findings are conflicting, though, and most research has been conducted on elite athletes. The aim of the current study is to determine the risk factors for PT in a large representative sample of basketball and volleyball players. Separate risk factors for men and women, basketball and volleyball players, and athletes with unilateral and bilateral PT were identified. All basketball and volleyball players between ages 18 and 35 from the Dutch Basketball Association and the Dutch Volleyball Association were invited to complete an online questionnaire on knee complaints and risk factors for PT. The logistic regression analyses included 2224 subjects. The risk factors for PT were age, playing at the national level, being male and playing volleyball (compared with playing basketball). The risk factors for men and women were comparable. Among volleyball players, outside hitters and middle blockers/hitters had an increased risk compared with setters. For basketball players, no risk factors could be identified. No differences in the risk factors were found between athletes with unilateral and bilateral PT. These findings should be taken into account for prevention and rehabilitation purposes.

Jump frequency may contribute to risk of jumper's knee: a study of interindividual and sex differences in a total of 11 943 jumps video recorded during training and matches in young elite volleyball players

“…It is possible that an even larger sample size would have revealed differences between player functions during match play in our study as well. A cross-sectional survey among 18–35-year-old Dutch volleyball players from different levels revealed that outside hitters and middle blockers were at greater risk for developing jumper's knee than setters,11 as originally shown by Lian et al ,5 possibly because they tend to be taller, heavier and jump higher. Nevertheless, the current study documents that there are differences in jump frequency between players that could amplify the differences reported in total training and match exposure, and therefore exacerbate the risk for developing jumper's knee.…”

Preventive interventions for tendinopathy: A systematic review

“…43 20,22 There remains nonetheless a lack of evidence in the field of pathology and risk factors, including the possible risk of tendon load history, musculoskeletal development, tendon load at critical ages, load cycling, and having diabetes mellitus. 19,20,22,44 . This should be further elucidated in order to develop successful preventive methods.…”

“…According to this model, it is clear that knowledge of risk factors, including both extrinsic modifiable and intrinsic modifiable risk factors, is essential for the development of preventive measures. 11,21,22 It is known that tendinopathy has a multifactorial etiology, but studies examining risk factors of tendinopathy show a lack of uniformity and statistical power and are mostly not prospective. 11, 22 25 Despite the lack of clarity about risk factors, various preventive interventions for tendinopathy have already been described.…”

Characterising the proximal patellar tendon attachment and its relationship to skeletal maturity in adolescent ballet dancersCharacterising the proximal patellar endon attachment and its relationship to skeletal maturity in adolescent ballet dancers

“…The presence of tendon pathology on imaging represents some risk factor for developing patellar tendon pain 1,27 . However, there are a multitude of factors that also contribute to onset of symptoms, where mechanical overload has been shown to be an important risk factor [28][29][30][31][32][33][34] . The patellar tendon is an energy-storage tendon that is loaded by jumping; hence why symptoms are called "jumper's knee."…”