RECOVER® JUMPERS KNEE

Jumper’s knee is a chronic injury of the patellar tendon of the knee. It is often called patellar tendonitis because there is inflammation of the tendon and most commonly occurs at its origin just below the kneecap. This chronic injury results in a degree of degeneration of the patellar tendon.

Anyone can get a jumper’s knee, but it is a particularly common problem in athletes involved in jumping sports, such as high jump, long jump, triple jump, basketball, hurdling, badminton, volleyball and soccer. With repetitive jumping often small tearing and injury of the tendon can occur.

When you suffer from a jumper’s knee you usually notice the gradual onset of pain. Most often you will have pain in the front of your knee, localised below the knee, when jumping or hopping, or with lifting or bending. Quite often the pain is relieved by rest but returns with activity. There might also be some swelling present below the kneecap.

Tendons are known to have a poor blood supply and combined with the stress of day-to-day activities, they do not easily heal from damage. As a result of the slow healing of tendons, the symptoms occurring at a knee tendon injury can last for a number of weeks, months, or sometimes, they can persist for years.

Recover Leukocyte-, and Platelet-Rich Plasma (L-PRP) offers a promising technique that may help tendon injuries. L-PRP prepared with the Recover technique results in concentrated platelets and white blood cells containing reservoirs of bioactive proteins, like growth factors. L-PRP injection therapy offers a technique that may help to relieve pain and improve function.

Recover: A natural treatment of jumper’s knee

Recover-treatment

A 52 ml sample of blood is withdrawn from your arm. The blood is then transferred in a tube that is placed in a centrifuge that spins the blood for 15 minutes. The centrifuge step separates the L-PRP from the rest of the blood components. After centrifugation the L-PRP is collected. L-PRP prepared with the Recover technique (containing platelets, growth factors and white blood cells) is ready to be injected back into the tendon at the site of the chronic injury. Before injecting the L-PRP a local anaesthetic can be used. After just one single skin poke through the skin, the L-PRP will be injected into the tendon with multiple penetrations.

After treatment

After the injection you should not move your knee for 15 minutes enabling the L-PRP to soak into your tendon. Afterwards you can go home and you may get a prescription for a narcotic pain medication for pain control overnight. Anti-inflammatory drugs are not allowed. Icing may be a good solution. Increased pain at the site of injury may result up to two weeks after L-PRP injection. After the patellar tendon Recover procedure, you should follow a customised rehabilitation protocol. Initially, you should be partial weight bearing with crutches. Progressive exercises should be started about 5–7 days after the procedure. Your consultant will provide guidance on this.

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