Efficacy of Radial Pressure Wave Therapy Combined With Exercise in Physically Active Athletes With Patellar...

This study aimed to compare the effects of radial pressure wave (RPW) combined with exercise and exercise alone in athletes with patellar tendinopathy.

This open-label randomized controlled trial was conducted at the Juntendo University Sakura Campus Athletic Training Room in Chiba, Japan. Thirty-three athletes with chronic patellar tendon pain due to patellar tendinopathy (mean age ± SD: 20.3 ± 2.9 years) were randomly allocated to either the RPW (n = 17) or the control (n = 16) group. The RPW group received four weekly treatment sessions over a four-week period. Both groups were instructed by a physiotherapist and performed daily lower extremity stretching and strengthening exercises. The Japanese version of the Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment for Patellar Tendinopathy (VISA-P-J) was assessed at baseline and at 4, 16, and 28 weeks after the intervention.

The mean baseline VISA-P-J scores (95% confidence interval) were 68.8 (61.7-75.9) for the RPW group and 67.4 (60.1-74.8) for the control group. At 4, 16, and 28 weeks after the intervention, the RPW group obtained scores of 77.6 (70.4-84.9), 82.5 (74.8-90.2), and 89.9 (82.5-97.3), whereas the control group obtained scores of 72.7 (65.2-80.1), 78.5 (70.6-86.4), and 77.4 (69.8-85.1), respectively. Both groups showed significant improvements over time. Although the RPW group demonstrated greater improvements at 28 weeks in unadjusted analyses, these differences lost significance following adjustment for symptom duration.

Both groups achieved clinically meaningful pain relief over the follow-up period. Although participants in the RPW group reached the MCID earlier than those in the control group, no statistically significant between-group differences were observed after adjustment for symptom duration. Trial Registration: The University hospital Medical Information Network (UMIN) Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN000030707).