Patellar tendinopathy: an international e-Delphi perspective

Abstract

Patellar tendinopathy is a chronic pathology of the anterior knee related to overloading of the patellar tendon. The purpose of the study was the formulation of a rehabilitation framework for patellar tendinopathy based on data from South African and international experts in the medical field. An e-Delphi survey was conducted with a mixed methods study design to obtain the opinions of eight experts. The e-Delphi survey consisted of three rounds, where the first two rounds focused on collecting opinions from the experts as a basis for the development of a rehabilitation framework that were evaluated in the third and final round. Consensus was reached regarding load tolerance, addressing individual athletes' needs, response to load progression principle, rest from activity, lower limb flexibility, hip and core strengthening, proprioception training, sport-specific skills training, return to sport assessment and functional ability of the athletes. Partial consensus was gained regarding isometric training, eccentric exercise, cardiovascular training and adapting rehabilitation for out and in season. Patella strapping was important during rehabilitation, as well as the expectations from the trainer and/or coach influencing rehabilitation. This research revealed a unique and collated perspective of internationally recognised experts regarding a patellar tendinopathy rehabilitation framework.

Keywords: Patellar tendinopathy; e-Delphi survey; Rehabilitation framework