The effect of radial and focused shockwave therapy on tendon structure in patients with patellar tendinopathy and healthy subjects: a pilot study

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Completed

Sex: Not specified

Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

Male and female subjects with the following criteria are eligible for inclusion in patellar tendinopathy subject group:
- History of knee pain in patellar tendon or its patellar or tibial insertion in connection with training and competition
- Symptoms for over three months
- Age 18-45 years old
- Palpation tenderness to the corresponding painful area
- Degenerative tendon changes determined by a regular ultrasound echo
- VISA-P score < 80;Male and female subjects with the following criteria are eligible for inclusion in healthy subject group:
- Age 18-45 years old
- VISA-P score of 95 or higher

Exclusion Criteria

Subjects must not be included in the patellar tendinopathy subjects group if one of the following applies:
- acute knee or patellar tendon injuries
- chronic knee joint diseases
- signs or symptoms of other coexisting knee pathology
- contraindications for SWT (pregnancy, malignancy, coagulopathy)
- knee surgery or injection therapy with corticosteroids in the last preceding three months
- Daily use of drugs with a putative effect on patellar tendinopathy in the last year (e.g. non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, fluorchinolones) or actual use of anticoagulants;Subjects must not be included in the healthy subjects group if one of the following applies:
- acute knee or patellar tendon injuries
- history of patellar tendinopathy
- chronic joint diseases
- contraindications for SWT (pregnancy, malignancy, coagulopathy)
- daily use of drugs with a putative effect on patellar tendinopathy in the last year (e.g. non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, fluorchinolones) or actual use of anticoagulants
- Allergy or intolerance for paracetamol

Study & Design

Study Type: Observational non invasive

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
<p>The primary study parameter is the echo type percentage of the structure of the<br /><br>patellar tendon determined by the UTC device. The UTC is an imaging technique<br /><br>for tendons. It displays the density and arrangement of the collagenous matrix.<br /><br>The tendon structure can be divided into four different echo types, type I,<br /><br>type II, type III and type IV. Type I and II are considered as organized tendon<br /><br>structure, where type III and IV are considered as degenerative tendon<br /><br>structure.</p><br>

Secondary Outcome Measures