Purpose: To characterize the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging features of patellar tendinitis.
Materials and methods: Fifteen patients with a clinical diagnosis of patellar tendinitis underwent gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging of the knee.
Results: Grades of patellar abnormality, based on findings in the enthesial region at MR imaging, correlated with signs of increasing fibrovascular repair: grade 1 (n = 4), enhancing area adjacent to patellar apex, with marginal zone of intermediate signal intensity, and a patellar apical chondral-bone avulsion; grade 2 (n = 5), same signs as grade 1 damage but without avulsion; grade 3 (n = 6), homogeneous, nonenhancing area of intermediate signal intensity adjacent to the patellar apex seen on all images. Changes were most obvious posteriorly and involved the central and medial thirds of the tendon. Chronic injury to the medial retinaculum was a common associated finding.
Conclusion: Patellar tendinitis demonstrates a consistent spectrum of changes at MR imaging that can aid understanding of the origin and treatment of damage.