Many people will consult a variety of physiotherapy, orthopaedic and sports medicine professionals; inconsistency

of care may prolong the rehabilitation process. The history should document all the known risk factors for tendinopathy, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, seronegative arthropathies and the use of fluoroquinolones. These are known to contribute to other tendinopathies, but their role in the patellar tendon is unknown. Finally, the examiner should ask about past injury and medical history, including previous injuries that have necessitated unloading or time off from sports activity or that may have altered the manner in which the athlete absorbs energy in athletic manoeuvres. The VISA-P (Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment for the Patellar tendon) should selleck inhibitor be completed as a baseline measure to allow

monitoring Trichostatin A of pain and function. The VISA-P is a brief questionnaire that assesses symptoms, simple tests of function and ability to participate in sports. Six of the eight questions are on a visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0 to 10, with 10 representing optimal health. The maximal score for an asymptomatic, fully functioning athlete is 100 points, the lowest theoretical score is 0 and less than 80 points corresponds with dysfunction.29 It has high impedance, so it is best repeated monthly and the minimal clinically significant change is 13 points.30 Tenderness on palpation is a poor diagnostic technique and should never be used as an outcome measure;31 however, pain pressure threshold, as measured by algometry, has been found to be significantly lower in athletes with patellar tendinopathy (threshold of 36.8 N) when compared to healthy athletes. Observation will nearly always reveal wasting of the quadriceps and calf muscles (especially gastrocnemius) compared to the contralateral side; the degree of atrophy is dependent on the length of symptoms. Athletes who continue to train and play, even at an elite level, are not immune to strength and bulk losses, as they are forced to unload because of pain. A key test is the

single-leg decline squat. While standing on the affected leg on a 25 deg decline board, the patient is asked to maintain an upright trunk and squat up to 90 deg next if possible (Figure 2).32 The test is also done standing on the unaffected leg. For each leg, the maximum angle of knee flexion achieved is recorded, at which point pain is recorded on a visual analogue scale. Diagnostically the pain should remain isolated to the tendon/bone junction and not spread during this test.33 This test is an excellent self-assessment to isolate and monitor the tendon’s response to load on a daily basis. Kinetic chain function is always affected;15, 18, 23 and 33 the leg ‘spring’ has poor function, and is commonly stiff at the knee and soft at the ankle and hip. The quality of movement can be assessed with various single-leg hop tests and specific change of direction tasks.