Patellar Tendinopathy in Jumping Athletes: What Patient-Reported Outcomes Looked Like Five Years After Physical Therapy

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who treat jumping athletes with anterior knee pain and who are asked, early in care, how things are likely to look years later.

Licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in outpatient orthopedic, sports and performance settings. Athletic trainers, strength and conditioning staff and rehabilitation students may also find the material useful.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Intermediate

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course reports the findings of one prospective cohort study — the five-year follow-up of athletes originally enrolled in a randomized trial of tendon-loading exercise at a university medical center in the Netherlands. The authors graded it as a cohort study, level of evidence 3.

Deng J, Oosterhof JJ, Eygendaal D, Breda SJ, Oei EHG, de Vos RJ. Long-term Prognosis of Athletes With Patellar Tendinopathy Receiving Physical Therapy: Patient-Reported Outcomes at 5-Year Follow-up. Am J Sports Med. 2025;53(7):1568-1576. doi:10.1177/03635465251336466. PMID: 40356204; PMCID: PMC12125489.

Every figure and conclusion in this course comes from that article. No outside data have been added.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the five-year self-perceived recovery rate and the rate of return to the desired sport reported in this cohort of athletes treated for patellar tendinopathy.
2. State what the study found about persisting pain and sports frequency at five years, including how many athletes were completely pain-free during sport.
3. Explain what the authors concluded about baseline prognostic factors and about the limits on applying these findings to other care settings.

1. Start Here: How This Course Works
2. Audio Lesson: Five Years After Treatment for Patellar Tendinopathy (about nine minutes)
3. Who Was Studied and Why the Question Mattered
4. How the Five-Year Follow-Up Was Carried Out
5. What the Athletes Reported at Five Years
6. Where the Findings Stop: Limits the Authors Named
7. Talking About Prognosis With Jumping Athletes
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course reports the findings of one prospective cohort study — the five-year follow-up of athletes originally enrolled in a randomized trial of tendon-loading exercise at a university medical center in the Netherlands. The authors graded it as a cohort study, level of evidence 3.
2. Deng J, Oosterhof JJ, Eygendaal D, Breda SJ, Oei EHG, de Vos RJ. Long-term Prognosis of Athletes With Patellar Tendinopathy Receiving Physical Therapy: Patient-Reported Outcomes at 5-Year Follow-up. Am J Sports Med. 2025;53(7):1568-1576. doi:10.1177/03635465251336466. PMID: 40356204; PMCID: PMC12125489.
3. Every figure and conclusion in this course comes from that article. No outside data have been added.