The quadriceps tendon is part of the extensor mechanism of the knee. This mechanism consists of the quadriceps muscle group, quadriceps tendon, patella, patellar retinaculum, patellar ligament and various soft tissues in the area. In the United States, knee injuries occur in more than 3 million people every year. Chronic anterior knee pain is common and often is associated with patellar malalignment (an imbalance of patellar posture) and abnormal patellar tracking (abnormal movement of the patella when flexing the knee, commonly associated with anterior knee pain and osteoarthritis).

Quadriceps Tendonitis affects the patellar tendon just above the kneecap area. This condition is the painful degeneration of the inside of the quadriceps tendon above the kneecap. A person experiencing quadriceps tendonitis will have particular pain straightening the lower leg, or slowing down when walking. Other conditions may be associated with quadriceps tendonitis, including diabetes, gout, and/or para-hypothyroidism. Other conditions which can be a cause of anterior knee pain are commonly confused with quadriceps tendonitis. These conditions include patellar tendonitis, synovial plicae, chondromalacia, patello-femoral subluxation and hyper-pressure, fat pad impingement or Hoffa's syndrome and patello-femoral arthritis.

When treating tendonitis of the quadricep, it's important to rest the area. Avoid the particular activity that produced the condition. Ultrasound treatment, regular ice/cold compression wrap application, gentle stretching and physiotherapy are all helpful. An ultrasound application over the affected area will reduce swelling quickly and increase blood flow to the area- increasing the healing rate of the tendon.

If the strain was minor, the body should be able to heal the tendon fibers normally. Unfortunately, this is not the usual result, because the injured tendon is being used instead of rested. Because of the stress on the tendon, the body heals the injured quadricep tendon fibers by binding them together with fibrotic adhesions, or scar tissue. This is a normal, protective response of the body, done in an attempt to prevent further damage to the injured area.

To prevent this, the patient should apply ultrasound treatment on the area up to three times daily. Ultrasonic energy will naturally "work" the tendon, increasing its flexibily while softening and breaking down scar tissue- which is not something you want in your tendon. Scar tissue is inflexible (non-elastic), decreases range of motion, and can quickly lead to reinjury of the tendon later on.

The trick to healing any tendon injury is getting it to heal with minimal scar tissue formation and with as much realignment of tendon fibres as possible- something Inferno Wraps and Therapeutic Ultrasound are great at! Even with optimum healing, there is always less elasticity in a previously injured tendon. You need to make sure you heal this as best you can- that way your chance of re-injury later on is much lower than average. If not treated properly, persistent symptoms will occur, which may eventually leading to corrective surgery.