Ultrasonic Image Changes of Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Patellar Tendinopathy in Chinese Professional Athletes

Patellar tendinopathy is a common overuse injury and the prevalence is particularly high in athletes. Extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) seems to be an effective treatment for patellar tendinopathy, but the effectiveness of ESWT in repairing patellar tendon need to be ascertained. The purpose of this study was to determine the ultrasonic image changes of ESWT for patellar tendinopathy and to investigate whether ESWT can cause benign changes of patellar tendon. This study consisted of 22 patients (25 knees) in the study group and 21 patients (23 knees) in the control group. The study group received 3 radial ESWT treatments without local anaesthesia at 1-week interval. Patients in the control group were treated with rest intervention only. The results indicated that ESWT combined with rest appeared to be more effective than rest intervention in repairing patellar tendon length, patellar tendon thickness, hypo-echogenic zones, and calcifications zones. It is evident from the results that ESWT combined with rest for patellar tendinopathy can result in benign changes of patellar tendon.