There are many different types of lower extremity injuries that could affect a person throughout his or her lifetime.  Common among runners and sports enthusiast may include knee sprains, patellar tendinitis, and patellofemoral pain syndrome.

Frustrating for Patients and Providers

A knee sprain could affect one or many ligaments.  Ligaments that could be affected with a knee sprain include:  the medial collateral ligament (MCL); the lateral collateral ligament (LCL); the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL); and the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL).  A ligamentous sprain can be from either direct contact or via non-contact injury.  Meniscal injuries within the knee are also very common and can be via direct contact or non-contact.

Patellar tendon pain (often called patellar tendinitis or patellar tendinosis) occurs when the tendon connecting your knee cap (patella) to your shinbone becomes inflamed and irritated.  Patellar tendinitis is often called “jumper’s knee” because it occurs so frequently in sports like basketball and volleyball.  It also affects runners, primarily due to poor lower extremity biomechanics during running, which can lead to an overuse syndrome affecting the patellar tendon.  Continue Reading to learn about treatment options for knee pain.