BILATERAL, SIMULTANEOUS AND SPONTANEOUS RUPTURE OF THE QUADRICEPS TENDON

Bilateral rupture of the quadriceps tendon is an extremely rare condition; simultaneous rupture is even rarer; many cases of unilateral rupture of a quadriceps tendon have been reported. Factors in cause and development of the condition are purely speculative. The mechanism of rupture appears to be in the vast majority of cases a sudden, violent contraction of the quadriceps group of muscles in the presence of a slightly flexed knee joint and a fixed foot and/or direct trauma resulting in contusion or laceration. McMaster's experimental work cited by Conway¹ indicates that normal tendon does not rupture. Most authors enumerate a series of predisposing factors which usually include fibrosis from previous injury, arteriosclerosis, obesity, syphilis and other acute or chronic diseases affecting muscle and tendon. The difficulty and infrequency of identifying a definite responsible factor is evident. Consequently, one can only say that trauma immediately or previously inflicted on an