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Patellar Tendinopathy: Cell Therapy

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Orthobiologics

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Abstract

Patellar tendinopathy is a common cause of knee pain, especially in young athletes. The pathophysiology of patellar tendinopathy has not been clearly understood, and the term “tendinopathy” is still used mixed with “tendinitis” and “tendinosis.” With the recent advance of molecular biology, inflammation is reported to be crucial in the initiation and progression of tendinopathy. If repeated microtrauma disrupts the balance between the pro-inflammatory system and the pro-resolving system, and damages accumulate beyond the reparative capacity of tendon, then tendon develops and progresses into the degenerative inflammatory phase which results in fibrovascular scar tissue formation with inferior histological, biomechanical properties and consequently poorer functional recovery. Thus, optimal treatments for patellar tendinopathy should address inflammation and degeneration. So far, many treatment approaches including medicine, injection, exercise, and extracorporeal shock wave therapy have been proposed. However, most of them are only for symptomatic relief, and outcomes are still controversial both of which would claim the necessity of alternative strategies that could address the pathophysiology of tendinopathy and effectively manage clinical symptoms. Among them, cell therapy has been proposed as a promising option. In this chapter, the experimental evidence and clinical outcomes of current cell therapies are summarized and grouped in one of three categories: stem/stromal cells, differentiated cells, and minimally manipulated cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea

    Chris H. Jo & Sanghoon Oh

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  1. Chris H. Jo
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  2. Sanghoon Oh
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Correspondence to Chris H. Jo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute, Bologna, Italy

    Giuseppe Filardo

  2. Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine Group, Santa Monica Orthopaedic & Sports Medicine, Santa Monica, CA, USA

    Bert R. Mandelbaum

  3. Orthopaedic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA

    George F. Muschler

  4. Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA

    Scott A. Rodeo

  5. Institute for Medical Science in Sports, Osaka Health Science University, Osaka, Japan

    Norimasa Nakamura

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Jo, C.H., Oh, S. (2022). Patellar Tendinopathy: Cell Therapy. In: Filardo, G., Mandelbaum, B.R., Muschler, G.F., Rodeo, S.A., Nakamura, N. (eds) Orthobiologics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-84744-9_16

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