How to Cope With Jumper's Knee

Jumper's knee, also known as patellar tendonitis, is the inflammation or the rupture of the patellar tendon, which connects the kneecap to the shinebone. Jumper's knee often occurs in sports that involve a lot of jumping and running, such as basketball, volleyball, soccer, aerobics, gymnastics, and track and field.

Instructions

• 1

  Identify the symptoms of jumper's knee, which include pain and tenderness around the patellar tendon, swelling of the knee, pain in jumping, walking, unable to walk straight, pain during straightening or bending the leg.If your patellar tendon is ruptured, your doctor may order X-ray or MRI scan to evaluate the extent of the injury. Surgery maybe required to repair the ruptured patellar tendon.

• 2

  Apply ice to the knee every 2-3 hours to relieve pain. Each session of icing should last about 15-25 minutes. Repeat for 2-3 days until the swelling goes away.

• 3

  Use a knee brace to support the patellar tendon. This helps to prevent stress on the partellar tendon.

• 4

  Wear an arch support if overpronation (also known as flat feet) contributes to the injury.

• 5

  Take pain medications as instructed by your doctor until you can tolerate the pain without medications. Swimming can help to speed up recovery.

• 6

  Return to normal activity if you can straighten or bend the leg without any pain, and both injured knee and leg regain the strength they had prior to the injury.