Scientific data physiotherapy for patellar tendinopathy: a systematic review of the literature

Abstract

Introduction: Patellar tendinopathy is a common condition among athletes. Objective: To investigate the scientific data on physiotherapy for patellar tendinopathy. Methods: Randomized controlled trials related to physiotherapy in patellar tendinopathy written in Portuguese, English and Spanish in the period 2004 to 2014 were included. The descriptors tendinopathy, patella and patellar tendinopathy were used for searching in Medline, PubMed, Lilacs and PEDro databases. The articles were reviewed independently and blindly by two researchers. To assess the methodological quality of the studies PEDro scale was applied. Results: The initial search identified 37.155 articles. After reading the titles and abstracts ten studies remained for analysis and all with a good methodological quality according the PEDro Scale. Conclusions: The physiotherapy approach through the use of eccentric exercises showed the greatest efficacy in the treatment of patellar tendinopathy, being superior to other forms of physiotherapy interventions and other treatments such as medication and surgery.