Patellar and Achilles Tendon Thickness Differences among Athletes with Different Numbers of Meals per Day: A Cross-Sectional Study

Santiago Navarro-Ledesma, Gabriel Gijon-Nogueron, Inmaculada Reina-Martín, Ana Belen Ortega-Avila and Leo Pruimboom
Additional contact information
Santiago Navarro-Ledesma: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Campus of Melilla, University of Granada, Querol Street, 5, 52004 Melill, Spain
Gabriel Gijon-Nogueron: Department of Nursing and Podiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malaga, 3, Arquitecto Francisco Penalosa, 29002 Malaga, Spain
Inmaculada Reina-Martín: Department of Nursing and Podiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malaga, 3, Arquitecto Francisco Penalosa, 29002 Malaga, Spain
Ana Belen Ortega-Avila: Department of Nursing and Podiatry, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Malaga, 3, Arquitecto Francisco Penalosa, 29002 Malaga, Spain
Leo Pruimboom: PNI Europe, 2518 JP The Hague, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 4, 1-10

Abstract: The objective of this study is to analyse differences in the thickness of the patellar (PT) and Achilles tendons (AT) among athletes with different number of meals per day. The design is a cross-sectional, observational study. A total of thirty-six male athletes (with mean age groups ranging from 31 to 40) were recruited and divided into three groups based on the number of daily meals they had (3, 4 or 5 meals). PT and AT were assessed by ultrasound. There were statistically significant differences in PT when comparing groups 1 and 3, at both longitudinal ( p < 0.03) and transversal ( p < 0.002) planes. There were no differences when comparing groups 1 and 2 or groups 2 and 3. There was a negative correlation between the number of meals per day and tendon thicknesses in both PT (longitudinal plane: r = −0.384; p = 0.02/transversal plane: r = −0.406; p = 0.01) and AT (transversal plane: r = −0.386; p = 0.02). In conclusion, there were patellar tendon thickness differences between participants and the number of daily meals could play a key role in tendon thickness, healing and performance.

Keywords: Achilles tendon; patellar tendon; ultrasonography; runners; metabolic health; metabolic education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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