Information about a piece of news titled No effect of eccentric training on jumpers knee in volleyball players during the competitive season.
No effect of eccentric training on jumpers knee in volleyball players during the competitive season.
Intoduction
A recent study from the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, published in the July 2005 issue of the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, did not show any effect of a program of eccentric strength training in volleyball players with jumper`s knee who continued to train and compete as normal during the competitive season.
Eccentric strength training has been shown to be an effective treatment alternative for Achilles tendinopathy, and recent pilot studies have also shown promising for patients with patellar tendinopathy (jumpers knee). The current study was done to investigate the effect of a newly developed eccentric training program for patellar tendinopathy during the competitive season. The training program was based on slow eccentric squats (mimicking the Alfredson program for Achilles tendon pain) on a 25° decline board as a home exercise program with three sets of 15 repetitions twice daily for a 12-week intervention period during the final half of the competitive season.
The study was designed as a randomized clinical trial. Patients were recruited from male and female elite volleyball teams in Norway, and the diagnosis was based on clinical examination alone. Of 51 players diagnosed with patellar tendinopathy, 29 could be included in the study. The training group (n=13) performed the eccentric training program, while the control group (n=16) trained as usual. The primary outcome was a symptom-based questionnaire developed specifically for patellar tendinopathy (VISA score) and patients were followed up before and after the intervention period, as well as after 6 and 30 weeks. All subjects self-recorded training to document their activity level (eccentric training, volleyball training, matches, other training).
The results showed that there was no change in VISA score during the intervention period in the training (before: 71.1±11.3, after: 70.2±15.4) or control group (before: 76.4±12.1, after: 75.4±16.7), nor was there any change during the follow-up period at 6 weeks or 6 months after the end of the season.
The study therefore suggests that there is no evidence to suggest that using eccentric training on players who continue to train and compete as usual during during the treatment period is beneficial. Whether the training would be effective if the patients did not participate in sports activity is not known.
The primary investigators of this study were Håvard Visnes and Aasne Hoksrud both medical students at the University of Bergen, professor Jill Cook from LaTrobe University in Australia and professor Roald Bahr.
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