ArticleKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2020
Bilateral changes in tendon structure of patients diagnosed with unilateral insertional or midportion achilles tendinopathy or patellar tendinopathy.
Article in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- Don't Underestimate Pain on Palpation in the Clinical Exam for Achilles Tendinopathy.International journal of sports physical therapy · 2026Article
- One-Year Follow-Up of Clinical and Morphological Outcomes in Elite Athletes With Early-Stage Lower Extremity Tendinopathy.European journal of sport science · 2025Article
- Long-term Prognosis of Patellar Tendinopathy (Jumper's Knee) in Young, Elite Volleyball Players: Tendon Changes 11 Years After Baseline.The American journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- Article
- Quadriceps strength, patellar tendon quality, relative load exposure, and knee symptoms in male athletes before the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2023Article
- Evidence-Based High-Loading Tendon Exercise for 12 Weeks Leads to Increased Tendon Stiffness and Cross-Sectional Area in Achilles Tendinopathy: A Controlled Clinical Trial.Sports medicine - open · 2022Article
- Intra- and Inter-Rater Reliability of Processing Ultrasound Tissue Characterization Scans in Midportion Achilles Tendinopathy.Translational sports medicine · 2022Article
- Patellar Tendon Structural Adaptations Occur during Pre-Season and First Competitive Cycle in Male Professional Handball Players.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Multimodal Ultrasound Versus MRI for the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Achilles Tendinopathy: A Prospective Longitudinal Study.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2021Article
- Evaluation of Current Symptoms in Postoperative Achilles Tendons: A Multimodal Ultrasound Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Article
- The influence of a multidisciplinary intervention program on Achilles tendon structure in children with overweight and obesity.European journal of pediatrics · 2020Article
- Running a Marathon-Its Influence on Achilles Tendon Structure.Journal of athletic training · 2020Article
- Are static foot posture and ankle dorsiflexion range of motion associated with Achilles tendinopathy? A cross-sectional study.Brazilian journal of physical therapyArticle
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
purposeChanges in tendon structure are commonly seen in patients with unilateral achilles (AT) or patellar (PT) tendinopathy but might also be present on the asymptomatic side, indicating a higher risk for developing symptoms. The aim of this study is to compare tendon structure of the symptomatic side with the asymptomatic side in AT and PT patients and control subjects.
methodsA total of 46 patients with unilateral AT (16 insertional and 30 midportion) and 38 with unilateral PT were included. For the control group, a total of 18 Achilles tendons and 25 patellar tendons were scanned. Tendon structure was assessed using ultrasound tissue characterisation (UTC), which quantifies tendon organisation dividing the structure into four different echo types (I-IV).
resultsThere were significant differences in echo types I, III, and IV between symptomatic and asymptomatic sides and controls. Additionally, there was a significant difference between the symptomatic and the asymptomatic side for all tendinopathy locations. In the insertional AT tendon portion, the symptomatic side showed a higher percentage of echo type III. For the midportion AT, the symptomatic side showed a lower percentage of echo type I and a higher percentage of echo types III and IV. For the patellar tendon, the symptomatic side showed a higher percentage of echo types III and IV. All differences were higher than the minimal detectable changes.
conclusionAlthough patients have symptoms unilaterally, the tendon structures are compromised on both sides. These results stress the importance of monitoring both symptomatic and asymptomatic tendon structures and in addition highlight that the asymptomatic side should not be used as reference in clinical practice. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.
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