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Morphological characteristics of the patellar tendon in runners, cyclists, triathletes, and physically active individuals

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Abstract

The objective of the study was to compare measurements of length, thickness, and cross-section area (CSA) of the patellar tendon (PT) among cyclists, runners, triathletes, and physically active individuals (control group). Forty healthy individuals (10 cyclists, 10 runners, 10 triathletes, and 10 physically active individuals) aged between 18 and 45 years (30.3 ± 8.6 years) participated in the study. PT was measured by a B-mode ultrasound system. To measure the length and thickness (in 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm of the PT length) the probe was positioned parallel to the tendon and to measure the CSA the probe was positioned perpendicularly in 25, 50, and 75% of the PT length. PT length data were analyzed using a one-way ANOVA to compare between groups and PT CSA and thickness were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA (group vs. position) to compare the variables among the groups with the post-hoc Tukey test. All statistical analyses were performed considering p < 0.05. We observed a significant difference, where cyclists had smaller PT thickness (regardless of the location measured) compared to the group of triathletes (p = 0.001) and the physically active group (p = 0.043). All other variables (length, thickness, and CSA) and interactions (local and position) were not significant. We concluded that regardless of the position where PT thickness is measured, cyclists have smaller PT thickness compared to triathletes and physically active individuals but similar when compared to runners. And no differences in the length and CSA of the PT between groups.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and the National Council of Scientific Research (CNPq) Brazil.

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  1. Centro de Desportos, Laboratório de Biomecânica, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Campus Universitário, Bairro Trindade, Florianópolis, SC, 88.040-900, Brazil

    Morgana Lunardi, Raphael Luiz Sakugawa, Franklin Everaldo Furtado, Lucas Tavares Sampaio & Fernando Diefenthaeler

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  2. Raphael Luiz Sakugawa
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by ML, RLS, FEF, LTS, and FD. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Morgana Lunardi and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fernando Diefenthaeler.

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Lunardi, M., Sakugawa, R.L., Furtado, F.E. et al. Morphological characteristics of the patellar tendon in runners, cyclists, triathletes, and physically active individuals. J Ultrasound (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-023-00865-6

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