Self-reported bio-psycho-social factors partially distinguish patellar tendinopathy from other knee problems and explain patellar tendinopathy severity in jumping athletes: A case-control study.

Objective: To determine what combinations of self-reported factors distinguish patellar tendinopathy (PT) from other knee problems, and explain PT severity variance.

Design: Case-control study.

Setting: Social media, private practice and National Health Service.

Participants: An international sample of jumping athletes diagnosed with either PT (n = 132; 30.7 ± 8.9 years; 80 males; VISA-P = 61.6 ± 16.0) or another musculoskeletal knee condition (n = 89; 31.8 ± 9.9 years; 47 males; VISA-P = 62.9 ± 21.2) by a clinician in the last 6 months.

Main Outcome Measures: We considered clinical diagnosis (case = having PT vs control = having other knee problems) as the dependent variable. Severity and sporting impact were defined by VISA-P and availability, respectively.

Results: A model comprising seven factors distinguished PT from other knee problems; training duration (OR = 1.10), sport type (OR = 2.31), injured side (OR = 2.28), pain onset (OR = 1.97), morning pain (OR = 1.89), condition acceptability (OR = 0.39) and swelling (OR = 0.37). Sports-specific function (OR = 1.02) and player level (OR = 4.11) explained sporting availability. 44% of PT severity variance was explained by quality of life (β = 0.32), sports-specific function (β = 0.38) and age (β = -0.17).

Conclusion: Sports-specific, biomedical and psychological factors partially distinguish PT from other knee problems. Availability is mainly explained by sports-specific factors, while psychosocial factors impact on severity. Adding sports-specific and bio-psycho-social factors into assessments could help better identification and management of jumping athletes with PT.