Associated symptoms

In addition to the pain in the patellar tendon, other accompanying symptoms may also be present, depending on the cause of the discomfort. These are then usually typical for the respective disease, which causes pain in the patellar tendon, among other things. If the pain in the patella is based on a patellar tip syndrome, in 20-30% of cases it occurs on both sides.

A further characteristic is the dependence on movement. In a slightly pronounced form of patellar tendon syndrome, the pain occurs only at the beginning and end of a load. They may have disappeared during the exertion.

In the further course of the disease, however, the pain can manifest itself even at low loads, especially when climbing stairs or walking downhill. In the end, the pain may worsen and even become chronic. In the case of retropatellar arthrosis, the pain is also increased when climbing stairs and walking downhill.

In addition, there is a so-called “tarnishing pain”, i.e. pain in the patellar tendon is intensified especially after getting up from a longer sitting position, due to the previous long bending posture. If the patellar tendon becomes inflamed, typical symptoms such as swelling and overheating, rarely redness, can occur in addition to the pain. In most cases, the pain is accompanied by a restriction of movement. Since the patellar tendon is involved in the extension of the knee joint in cooperation with the thigh muscle (lat. Musculus quadriceps), this movement may be restricted or even impossible if the patellar tendon is damaged in various ways.

Pain when climbing stairs

Pain when climbing stairs is considered to be a typical movement-dependent pain associated with complaints of the patella tendon. It is considered a characteristic pain in advanced patellar tendon syndrome and retropatellar arthrosis. The reason for this is the anatomical position of the patellar tendon and its connection with the thigh muscle (lat.

Musculus quadriceps femoris). The tendonous parts of the M. quadriceps femoris radiate into the patella and continue into the patellar tendon. Since this large thigh muscle plays a dominant role in the extension of the knee joint, it is obvious that the patella is stressed during every extension movement.Since climbing stairs involves a constant alternation of bending and stretching in the knee joint, pain in the patella can be traced in this movement pattern. Of course, this is only the case if the patella or the patella tendon itself has any pathologies in the form of injuries or diseases.