Knee pain prevention
Patellar tendinopathy, also known as jumper's knee, affects the tendons that attach the kneecap
to the shinbone and the quadriceps tendon to the kneecap. Prolonged kneeling can cause prepatellar bursitis
- Maintain a healthy weight.
- Wear kneepads when kneeling on hard surfaces. Avoid prolonged kneeling.
- Strengthen and stretch your leg muscles. Pay special attention to your front and back thigh muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings).
- Avoid deep knee bends.
- Avoid running downhill unless you are fully conditioned.
- Wear shoes with good arch supports.
- During specific sports activities:
- Replace running shoes about every 500 miles or 800 kilometers.
- Whenever possible, avoid wearing shoes with cleats when playing contact sports. Cleats help your performance in some sports by keeping your feet from slipping during acceleration, turns, or contact, but this also increases the risk of injury.
| Author: | Shannon Erstad, MBA/MPH | Last Updated: December 19, 2006 |
| Medical Review: | Martin Gabica, MD - Family Medicine Nicola Maffulli, MD, PhD - Orthopedics | |
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