- Sinding-Larsen’s disease
- Patellar Tip Syndrome
- Sinding-Larsen-Johansson disease
- Larsen Johansson Disease
Introduction
The disease known as Sinding-Larsen’s disease is an extremely painful inflammatory reaction in the area of the knee joint. The inflammatory processes typical of Sinding-Larsen’s disease have their origin in the patellar tendon (patellar tendon, tendon of the quadriceps muscle) and manifest themselves mainly at the tip of the patella. As the inflammatory processes spread, one or more pieces of bone may become detached.
The direct consequence is often the development of pronounced bone necrosis. For this reason, the actual inflammatory disease Morbus Sinding-Larsen is counted among the group of osteonecroses (diseases in which bone parts die off). The main number of affected patients are young people. Sinding-Larsen’s disease occurs more frequently in athletes. A direct comparison between women and men shows that there are significantly more male patients among those affected.
Causes
The cause of Sinding-Larsen’s disease appears to be chronic overloading of the patella. More precisely, long-term loading of the affected knee joint leads to an increase in the strain on the tendons and the bone transition in the area of the tip of the patella. Sinding-Larsen’s disease occurs more frequently in people who expose their patellar tendon to particularly severe, unusual and repeated tensile stress.
Furthermore, a distinction is made between internal and external factors that influence the causes of Sinding-Larsen’s disease. The main cause of this bone disease appears to be a frequently occurring maximum stress on the tendon of the large front thigh muscle (musculus quadriceps). According to experts, such maximum stress is particularly frequent in jumping sports.
For this reason, basketball and volleyball players in particular have an increased risk of contracting Sinding-Larsen’s disease. In addition, many cases of Sindling-Larson’s disease can be observed in athletes who practice long and/or high jump. However, it is not only the maximum load on the patellar tendon that plays a role in the development of the disease.
Especially the lack of habituation to such a strain of the tendon seems to play a decisive role. For this reason, especially beginners of the risky sports are particularly at risk of contracting Sinding-Larsen’s disease. Although the risk of developing patellar necrosis is particularly high in the above-mentioned sports, more cases of Sinding-Larsen disease can be observed in patients who do less strenuous activities.
A clear risk therefore also exists for tennis players, weightlifters, cyclists and joggers. In addition to these external factors, so-called “internal risk factors” for the development of patellar necrosis have now also been identified. According to this, people with congenital or acquired patella elevation (technical term: patella alta) are particularly at risk. In addition, a reduced extensibility of the muscles adjacent to the knee joint is believed to promote the development of the disease. A hereditary (genetic) component in the development of Sinding-Larsen’s disease could also not be excluded.
