ArticleFrontiers in sports and active living2026
Differences in lower-extremity strength and power between elite hockey players with and without patellar asymptomatic tendon thickening; unilateral and bilateral comparative analysis.
Article in Frontiers in sports and active living, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Introduction: Existing research shows that while patellar tendinopathy in ice hockey players is linked to cumulative mechanical overload, structural tendon changes such as thickening or degeneration do not reliably correspond to pain or performance deficits, leaving the functional impact of asymptomatic tendon pathology unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to identify differences in lower-extremity strength and power between elite ice hockey players with and without patellar asymptomatic tendon thickening using unilateral and bilateral comparisons. Methods: This cross-sectional study combined clinical screening, performance testing, and ultrasound imaging to characterize patellar tendon structure and lower-extremity function. Players were objectively classified into healthy ( Results: Relative power output was significantly higher in the healthy group (20.3 ± 1.7 W·kg⁻¹) compared with the bilateral patellar asymptomatic tendon thickening group (18.6 ± 1.1 W·kg⁻¹; Discussion: Asymptomatic bilateral patellar tendon thickening was associated with a modest but significant reduction in relative power output in elite hockey players, whereas unilateral tendon changes did not impair performance. These findings suggest that bilateral structural tendon alterations may negatively influence power-generating capacity even in the absence of clinical symptoms.
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