Ultrasound Intervention Techniques in Patellar Tendinopathy: A Review

Abstract

Patellar tendinopathy is a very common, yet very difficult pathology to treat. Its’ frequency in elite athletes, especially in jumping sports, can go as high as 14%. Recently it has been suggested that chronic tendinopathy may be an active process of ongoing tendon degeneration bearing close relation with inflammation-mediated responses, the intensity of pain in patellar tendinopathy appears to have a stronger relation with the number of newly formed blood vessels observed on Doppler ultrasound. This article is a descriptive review of the available information which was obtained during a 1-month period (September 2021) and the following search keywords were used: interventional ultrasonography; patellar ligament; tendinopathy. Based on the information obtained, a total of 787 articles were revied, mainly published in the last 10 years in Pubmed, Medline, and SciELO databases; out of these, a total of 15 articles were used as citations. Even though conservative treatment is preferred as a first-line treatment, if, during a 6-month period it fails, then surgical treatment is proposed; however, recovery time is a crucial issue for elite athletes. Treatment by ultrasound-guided interventionism is presented as an effective alternative and allows athletes to return to their regular activities in less time, with optimal results. In the literature there are not many articles that describe the various techniques of ultrasound-guided interventionism for the treatment of patellar tendinopathy, thus, we have carried out this bibliographic review. Keywords: Interventional ultrasonography, Patellar ligament, Tendinopathy.