Another day, another knee taped!
I don't use tape that often, but knees seem to respond quite well when they are irritable and you need some temporary relief to allow symptoms to settle.
This technique is one I use for Hoffa's fatpad impingement. This infrapatella fat pad is a soft tissue structure that lies underneath the patella (kneecap). It acts as a shock absorber in the knee when forces are placed through the patellofemoral joint ( where the patella runs over the front of the femur, or thigh bone, in the knee. With forceful direct impact to the patella, the fat pad can become impinged, or trapped
This is a common injury with many sports, especially contact sports like rugby and football. We see a lot of knee impingements as physiotherapists, especially in our sports injury clinic.
Impingement can be diagnosed with Hoffa's test, which is when your physiotherapist will place their fingers either side of your patella tendon (the tendon which connects your patella to your shin bone or tibia) They will then apply pressure and ask that you extend your knee. If it replicates your symptoms then you may well have fat pad impingement.
In this technique, tape is placed across the superior (upper) 3rd of the patella, which lifts the inferior angle of the patella reducing the pressure it places on the fat pad underneath. A proper programme of strengthening and mobilising exercises should also be used, and will always be used as this has the greatest evidence for recovery from these kind of sports injuries.