Knee tendinitis injuries: what are the risk factors for knee tendinitis in athletes?

This useful study (Witvrouw and Lysens (2001). American Journal of Sports Medicine, 29(2), 190-195) looked at various biomechanical and anatomical factors that could predispose athletes to knee tendinitis. 138 male and female students were used as subjects. Each subject was evaluated for the following factors:

• anthropometric variables, ie, size and circumferences of body parts
• muscle flexibility
• muscle strength

The subjects were then followed for two years, during which time 19 of the 138 subjects suffered from knee tendinitis injury. These knee patients were then compared with the non-knee patients to discover if any biomechanical or anatomical factors could explain the occurrence of the injury.

The researchers found, by performing a statistical analysis on the data, that the group of knee tendinitis, had less flexibility in the quadriceps and hamstrings compared to the non-injured group. No other factor was associated with the injury.

The main finding is that poor quadriceps and hamstring flexibility will increase risk of knee tendinitis injuries.

Practical advice for patients and therapists is to focus on stretching as the main part of an injury rehab- and prehabilitation programme.