Incidence of lower limb tendinopathy: A 3-year prospective study of a youth elite athletes in a Brazilian sport club

Natália FN Bittencourt, Rodrigo Vaz, Leandro Garcia, Johannes Zwerver, Luciana D. Mendonça*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)
54 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate lower limb tendinopathy incidence over 3 seasons in Brazilian youth elite athletes. 

Design: Prospective epidemiological study. 

Methods: A prospective study was performed during 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, with a total of 1553 Brazilian youth athletes (1.195 male and 358 female) out of 6 sports (volleyball, basketball, judo, gymnastics, tennis and futsal). The mean age was 14.1 (11.2; 17.0) years, mean height was 1.75 (1.55; 1.95) meters and mean body mass was 59.4 (42.0; 76.4) kilograms. The diagnosis of lower limb tendinopathy (LLT) was made by an experienced sports physician based on a detailed history and clinical exam. The incidence of LLT was determined by number of injuries/total exposure hours x 1000.

Results: In total, 100 LLT were recorded during the 3 seasons. The most frequent type of LLT was patellar (79%), adductor (12%) and Achilles (9%). The frequency of patellar tendinopathy was higher in male's volleyball, basketball and female volleyball (41%, 25%, 13%, respectively) and the frequency of Achilles tendinopathy was higher in basketball and female volleyball (33%,22%). The LLT incidence was 2.5/1000h in 2015, 4.2/1000h in 2016 and 2.1/1000h in 2017. 

Conclusion: Lower limb tendinopathies are relatively common in youth elite athletes. In 3-season, the most frequent type was patellar tendinopathy. A higher LLT incidence was observed in male volleyball athletes when compared to female volleyball athletes. Basketball athletes presented a higher frequency of patellar, adductor and Achilles tendinopathies in 3-seasons when compared to other sports.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)461-464
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of bodywork and movement therapies
Volume40
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct-2024

Keywords

  • Athletic injury
  • Epidemiology
  • Tendinopathy
  • tendon

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Incidence of lower limb tendinopathy: A 3-year prospective study of a youth elite athletes in a Brazilian sport club'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this