Extracorporeal shockwave therapy in the treatment of patellar tendinopathy: A randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled trial

Abstract

Patellar tendinopathy is a common injury in athletes. The purpuse was to examine whether extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) was more effective than placebo in the treatment patellar tendinopathy. Thirty‐six athletes were randomly assigned to receive either three ESWT treatments or three placebo treatments. The primary endpoints were changes in pain while walking, at rest, and when the tendon was squeezed on a 0‐10 numeric rating scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment satisfaction and ultrasonographic outcomes. After 12 weeks, ESWT was more effective than placebo regarding pain while walking, mean difference [MD] 1.4 (P = .011). There was no difference in pain at rest, MD 0.4 (P = .404) or pain when the tendon was squeezed, MD 0.3 (P = .221). Regarding the secondary outcomes, ESWT was more effective than placebo with regard to patient‐rated treatment effect, but no improvements were observed in the ultrasonographic outcomes. Improvement was observed after 12 weeks in the ESWT group regarding pain while walking but not regarding pain at rest, when the tendon was squeezed, and on ultrasonography. These findings provide limited support for the use of ESWT, but the clinical relevance is still unclear.