Information about a piece of news titled New PhD on the treatment of patellar tendinopathy
New PhD on the treatment of patellar tendinopathy
Intoduction
After 7 years with extensive research on patellar tendinopathy, Aasne Hoksrud vil defend her PhD-thesis on May 11. One of her main findings showed that sclerosing treatment resulted in a moderate improvement in knee function and reduced pain.
In this thesis, Aasne and her co-workers investigated to what extent patients with jumper’s knee symptoms (patellar tendon symptoms) displayed neovascularization.
Thereby, the proportion of patients suitable for scleroing therapy had to be estimated.
Furthermore, Aasne analyzed if sclerosing treatment affected the level of patellar tendon pain and knee function in patients with patellar tendinopathy.
Aasne and her co-workers also evaluated the ultrasound characteristics of the tendon after sclerosing injection treatment.
Patellar tendinopathy - what do we (not) know?
Patellar tendinopathy (jumper’s knee) is a frequent cause of morbidity among both recreational and competitive athletes. Despite this, there is a remarkable lack of properly designed studies investigating treatment options. Although a multitude of treatment options have been suggested, patellar tendinopathy is difficult to manage successfully, and there is a little evidence to guide the clinician.
Recently published studies have demonstrated structural changes along with neovessels in patients with patellar and Achilles tendinopathy, and it has been hypothesized that the neovessels are involved in the pain mechanism in chronic painful tendinopathies.
This hypothesis led to a pilot study of a new treatment method sclerosing the area with neovessels using polidocanol in patients with Achilles tendinopathy, reporting promising clinical results.
The main conclusions from this PhD-work
- Among elite athletes with a clinical diagnosis of jumper´s knee, 60% displayed tendon changes with neovascularization
- Athletes with neovascularization reported more pain than patients without neovascularization
- Sclerosing injections with polidecanol resulted in a significant improvement in knee function and reduced pain in patients with chronic painful patellar tendinopathy
- Nevertheless, the majority of the patients still experienced pain and reduced function after treatment
- The majority of tendons still revealed significant neovascularization and structural changes after sclerosing treatment
- There was no relationship between changes in function scores and changes in ultrasound status after sclerosing treatment
Professor Roald Bahr has been the supervisor for Aasne Hoksrud.
Read more about Aasne´s PhD-project and publications.
Dissertation Committee
1. Opponent: Professor Michael Kjær, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
2. Opponent: Professor Jón Karlsson, Department of Orthopaedics, Sahlgrenska akademin, University og Gothenborg, Sweden.
Program on May 11
10:15 - 11:00 Trial lecture "Healing mechanisms in tendon ruptures: Basic science and clinical application", Det grønnet auditoriet, Ullevål Universitetssykehus.
13.15 - 16:00 PhD presentation and defense, Grønt auditorium, Laboratoriebygget, Ullevål Universitetssykehus.