The Effect of Electrical Stimulation on the Remediation of Pain Associated with Patellar Tendinosis

Objectives: Patellar tendinosis is a common condition associated with individuals who participate in repetitive muscular actions of the knee extensors.  There is no literature examining the effectiveness of electrical stimulation on the treatment of patellar tendinosis. The objective was to compare the effectiveness of two different protocols on pain remediation with patellar tendinosis.  Material and Methods: Ten volunteers (5 females, 5 males) who were physician-diagnosed with patellar tendinosis were randomly assigned to either the standard treatment group or the electrical stimulation treatment group.  Main effects and interactions were analyzed by mixed-model repeated measures ANOVA with post hoc analysis, Tukey’s HSD.  Dependent variables included pain intensity and pain occurrence. Results:   The main effect for Time was not significant for the pain occurrence data (P > 0.05).  The main effect for Group was not significant for the pain occurrence data (P > 0.05).  The main effect for Time was significant for the pain intensity data (P 0.05).  A significant Time x Group interaction was present for the pain occurrence data (P < 0.05).  A significant Time x Group interaction was present for the pain intensity data (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Clinicians may consider using the described electrical stimulation treatment protocol as the treatment may be beneficial.  Key Words: jumper’s knee, tendinosis, tendinopathy