@article{RischMayerCassel2021,
  author    = {Risch, Lucie and Mayer, Frank and Cassel, Michael},
  title     = {Doppler flow response following running exercise differs between healthy and tendinopathic Achilles tendons},
  series = {Frontiers in Physiology},
  volume    = {12},
  journal   = {Frontiers in Physiology},
  publisher = {Frontiers Research Foundation},
  address   = {Lausanne},
  issn      = {1664-042X},
  doi       = {10.3389/fphys.2021.650507},
  pages     = {10},
  year      = {2021},
  abstract  = {Background: The relationship between exercise-induced intratendinous blood flow (IBF) and tendon pathology or training exposure is unclear. Objective: This study investigates the acute effect of running exercise on sonographic detectable IBF in healthy and tendinopathic Achilles tendons (ATs) of runners and recreational participants. Methods: 48 participants (43 ± 13 years, 176 ± 9 cm, 75 ± 11 kg) performed a standardized submaximal 30-min constant load treadmill run with Doppler ultrasound "Advanced dynamic flow" examinations before (Upre) and 5, 30, 60, and 120 min (U5-U120) afterward. Included were runners (>30 km/week) and recreational participants (<10 km/week) with healthy (Hrun, n = 10; Hrec, n = 15) or tendinopathic (Trun, n = 13; Trec, n = 10) ATs. IBF was assessed by counting number [n] of intratendinous vessels. IBF data are presented descriptively (\%, median [minimum to maximum range] for baseline-IBF and IBF-difference post-exercise). Statistical differences for group and time point IBF and IBF changes were analyzed with Friedman and Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA (α = 0.05). Results: At baseline, IBF was detected in 40\% (3 [1-6]) of Hrun, in 53\% (4 [1-5]) of Hrec, in 85\% (3 [1-25]) of Trun, and 70\% (10 [2-30]) of Trec. At U5 IBF responded to exercise in 30\% (3 [-1-9]) of Hrun, in 53\% (4 [-2-6]) of Hrec, in 70\% (4 [-10-10]) of Trun, and in 80\% (5 [1-10]) of Trec. While IBF in 80\% of healthy responding ATs returned to baseline at U30, IBF remained elevated until U120 in 60\% of tendinopathic ATs. Within groups, IBF changes from Upre-U120 were significant for Hrec (p < 0.01), Trun (p = 0.05), and Trec (p < 0.01). Between groups, IBF changes in consecutive examinations were not significantly different (p > 0.05) but IBF-level was significantly higher at all measurement time points in tendinopathic versus healthy ATs (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Irrespective of training status and tendon pathology, running leads to an immediate increase of IBF in responding tendons. This increase occurs shortly in healthy and prolonged in tendinopathic ATs. Training exposure does not alter IBF occurrence, but IBF level is elevated in tendon pathology. While an immediate exercise-induced IBF increase is a physiological response, prolonged IBF is considered a pathological finding associated with Achilles tendinopathy.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{CasselBaurHirschmuelleretal.2015,
  author    = {Cassel, Michael and Baur, Heiner and Hirschmueller, Anja and Carlsohn, Anja and Fr{\"o}hlich, Katja and Mayer, Frank},
  title     = {Prevalence of Achilles and patellar tendinopathy and their association to intratendinous changes in adolescent athletes},
  series = {Scandinavian journal of medicine \& science in sports},
  volume    = {25},
  journal   = {Scandinavian journal of medicine \& science in sports},
  number    = {3},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Hoboken},
  issn      = {0905-7188},
  doi       = {10.1111/sms.12318},
  pages     = {e310 -- e318},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {Achilles (AT) and patellar tendons (PT) are commonly affected by tendinopathy in adult athletes but prevalence of symptoms and morphological changes in adolescents is unclear. The study aimed to determine prevalence of tendinopathy and intratendinous changes in ATs and PTs of adolescent athletes. A total of 760 adolescent athletes (13.0 +/- 1.9 years; 160 +/- 13cm; 50 +/- 14kg) were examined. History, local clinical examination, and longitudinal Doppler ultrasound analysis for both ATs and PTs were performed including identification of intratendinous echoic changes and vascularization. Diagnosis of tendinopathy was complied clinically in case of positive history of tendon pain and tendon pain on palpation. Achilles tendinopathy was diagnosed in 1.8\% and patellar tendinopathy in 5.8\%. Vascularizations were visible in 3.0\% of ATs and 11.4\% of PTs, hypoechogenicities in 0.7\% and 3.2\% as well as hyperechogenicities in 0\% and 0.3\%, respectively. Vascularizations and hypoechogenicities were statistically significantly more often in males than in females (P0.02). Subjects with patellar tendinopathy had higher prevalence of structural intratendinous changes than those without PT symptoms (P0.001). In adolescent athletes, patellar tendinopathy is three times more frequent compared with Achilles tendinopathy. Longitudinal studies are necessary to investigate physiological or pathological origin of vascularizations and its predictive value in development of tendinopathy.},
  language  = {en}
}