Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar St #155, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Department of Biobehavioral Sciences, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
J Ultrasound. 2024 Mar;27(1):41-49. doi: 10.1007/s40477-023-00793-5. Epub 2023 Jun 25.
The unique demands of dance technique make dancers more prone to certain pathologies especially of the foot and ankle. Flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendinopathy, colloquially known as "dancer's tendinopathy," is common in dancers and not well studied. The purpose of this study was to assess if morphological alterations in tendon structure occur as an adaptive response to dance activity by comparing the FHL tendon in dancers to non-dancers, and if pathology further alters tendon morphology in dancers clinically diagnosed with tendinopathy.
Three groups of ten participants were recruited (healthy non-dancers, healthy dancers, and dancers with FHL tendinopathy). Ultrasound images of the FHL tendons were analyzed for macromorphology by measuring the tendon thickness. The micromorphology was analyzed by determining the peak spatial frequency radius of the tendon. Our study did find increased tendon proper and composite tendon thickness in dancers with tendinopathy but no difference between asymptomatic dancers and non-dancers.
There was no significant difference in micromorphology found between any of the groups. As expected, dancers with tendinopathy demonstrated increased composite tendon and tendon proper thickness however, there was no evidence of adaptive thickening of the FHL tendon as might be expected for the dance population. There was also no evidence of micromorphological changes in the presence of clinically diagnosed FHL tendinopathy.
Because of the limited normative data for this pathology, these results can help improve diagnosis and therefore treatment for dancers to decrease the impact of this injury on their careers.
舞蹈技术的独特要求使舞者更容易患上某些特定的疾病，尤其是足部和踝关节的疾病。跖屈肌腱病（俗称“舞者肌腱病”）在舞者中很常见，但研究不足。本研究旨在通过比较舞者和非舞者的跖屈肌腱，评估肌腱结构的形态改变是否是舞蹈活动的适应性反应，以及如果舞者临床诊断为肌腱病，是否会进一步改变肌腱的形态。
招募了三组十名参与者（健康的非舞者、健康的舞者和患有跖屈肌腱病的舞者）。通过测量肌腱厚度，对跖屈肌腱进行宏观形态学分析。通过确定肌腱的峰值空间频率半径来分析微观形态。我们的研究确实发现，患有肌腱病的舞者的肌腱固有部和复合肌腱厚度增加，但无症状舞者和非舞者之间没有差异。
在任何组之间都没有发现微观形态的显著差异。正如预期的那样，患有肌腱病的舞者的复合肌腱和肌腱固有部厚度增加，然而，没有证据表明跖屈肌腱有适应性增厚，这在舞蹈人群中是可以预期的。在存在临床诊断的跖屈肌腱病的情况下，也没有证据表明存在微观形态变化。
由于这种病理的规范数据有限，这些结果可以帮助改善诊断，从而减少这种损伤对舞者职业生涯的影响。
