Case 3

History
24 year old male athlete with anterior knee pain.

Diagnosis?

Diagnosis
Jumper’s Knee (Infrapatellar Insertional Tendinosis).

Findings
Plain Images show thickening and abnormal high T2 signal in the proximal patellar tendon at its origin on the inferior patella.

Discussion
Patellar tendinosis (Jumper’s Knee) is most commonly found in athletes primarily engaged in running and jumping activities. Jumper’s Knee is a chronic functional overload injury with both micro- and partial macro-tearing of the tendon. MRI demonstrates thickening and high T2 signal with the proximal patellar tendon. Surgery is generally reserved for those patients with inadequate symptom relief from conservative therapy.

References
Ferretti A. Epidemiology of jumper’s knee. Sports Med 1986 Jul-Aug; 3(4): 289-95.
Colosimo AJ, Bassett FH 3rd. Jumper’s knee. Diagnosis and treatment. Orthop Rev 1990 Feb; 19(2): 139-49.
Pierets K, et al. Jumper’s knee: postoperative assessment. A retrospective clinical study. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 1999; 7(4):239-42.

Submitted by: Joel Rosner, M.D.
Reviewed by: Paul Clifford, M.D.