Evidence map›Paper›PMID 22186923›Full record

SynthesisKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2012

Treatment of patellar tendinopathy--a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Maria E H Larsson, Ingela Käll, Katarina Nilsson-Helander

Registry-linked trialAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02116946 (Intratendinous Injections of Platelet Rich Plasma With or Without Leukocyte Enrichment for Patellar Tendinopathy), which is not on this map. Cited by 57 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
57citing papers in PubMed, 7 pooled it
9.5field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT02116946 phase2terminatednot on this mapstarted 2014, after this paper: background citation

Intratendinous Injections of Platelet Rich Plasma With or Without Leukocyte Enrichment for Patellar Tendinopathy: a Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of British ColumbiaRan2014 to 2018Enrolled64ConditionsPatellar TendinopathyArmsPlatelet Rich Plasma (PRP), Saline + exercise
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

57 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 183 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Exercise for patellar tendinopathy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Pooled it
  5. Pooled it
  6. Pooled it
  7. Surgery for patellar tendinopathy (jumper's knee).The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019
    Pooled it
  8. Trial
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Review
  18. Reliability of Continuous Shear Wave Elastography in the Pathological Patellar Tendon.Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine · 2023
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Relationships between tendon structure and clinical impairments in patients with patellar tendinopathy.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.

Maria E H LarssonDepartment of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation/Physiotherapy, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. maria.eh.larsson@vgregion.se
Ingela Käll
Katarina Nilsson-Helander
University of Gothenburg · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposePatellar tendinopathy is a common, painful, overuse disorder. Although many different treatment methods have been described, there is no consensus regarding the optimal treatment for this condition. The purpose of this study was to systematically review, summarize, and compare treatments for patellar tendinopathy from published randomized controlled trials.

methodsDatabase searches were performed for randomized prospective controlled trials comparing treatment methods for patellar tendinopathy. The thirteen articles considered relevant were scrutinized according to quality assessment guidelines and levels of evidence.

resultsStrong evidence was found for the use of eccentric training to treat patellar tendinopathy. Moderate evidence was found for conservative treatment (heavy slow resistance training) as an alternative to eccentric training. Moderate evidence suggests that low-intensity pulsed ultrasound treatment did not influence treatment outcomes. Limited evidence was found for surgery, sclerosing injections, and shockwave therapy.

conclusionPhysical training, and particularly eccentric training, appears to be the treatment of choice for patients suffering from patellar tendinopathy. However, type of exercise, frequency, load, and dosage must also be analyzed. Other treatment methods, such as surgical treatment, sclerosing injections, and shockwave therapy, must be investigated further before recommendations can be made regarding their use. Ultrasound can likely be excluded as a treatment for patellar tendinopathy. There is a persistent lack of well-designed studies with sufficiently long-term follow-up and number of patients to draw strong conclusions regarding therapy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Indexed as

Evidence-Based MedicineHigh-Energy Shock WavesHumansPatellar LigamentRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicSclerosing SolutionsTendinopathyUltrasonic TherapySclerosing Solutions

Identifiers

PMID22186923
OpenAlexW2155999882

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.