ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN PATELLAR TENDON STRUCTURE, MOVEMENT QUALITY, AND TRAINING CHARACTERISITICS IN MALE COLLEGIATE ATHLETES

Rankin, Kelsey

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN PATELLAR TENDON STRUCTURE, MOVEMENT QUALITY, AND TRAINING CHARACTERISITICS IN MALE COLLEGIATE ATHLETES Public Deposited

Analytics

Download PDF

Request Accessible Version

Last Modified

March 21, 2019

Creator

Rankin, Kelsey
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Exercise and Sport Science

Abstract

Purpose: Ultrasound tissue characterization (UTC) is an imaging tool used to quantify tendon structural integrity. UTC has quantified patellar tendon response to load in athletes; however, PT structure between two conversely loaded high volume sports has yet to be compared. Methods: The JV Men's Basketball team (n=13) and Varsity Men's Swim team (n=13) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were imaged using the UTC device with a 10-MHz linear-array transducer mounted in a tracking device. The device captures images at 0.2mm intervals along the AT. UTC algorithms quantified the stability of pixel brightness over every 17 contiguous transverse images into 4 echo-types (I-IV). Participants completed a jump-landing task using the Electromagnetic Motion Capture System. The dominant limb of each participant was analyzed for patellar tendon structure and landing biomechanics. All participants completed a self-report training load questionnaire, including the validated PT assessment the VISA-P. Independent Samples T-tests, correlations and multiple linear regression model were used to assess association and correlation between tendon structure and measures of training intensity. Results: 26 subjects completes this study. There was significant difference in tendon structure between basketball and swim athletes (p = 0.04) with basketball athletes presenting with significantly less aligned tendon structure. There was moderate association between training intensity and tendon structure. Discussion: Training intensity and training load may negatively influence patellar tendon structural integrity.

Date of publication