Correlations between Achilles tendon material and structural properties and quantitative magnetic resonance imagining in different athletic populations

Andrea Monte; Jiri Skypala; Dominik Vilimek; Vladimir Juras; Daniel Jandacka

doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111796

Correlations between Achilles tendon material and structural properties and quantitative magnetic resonance imagining in different athletic populations

J Biomech. 2023 Oct:159:111796. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111796. Epub 2023 Sep 6.

Authors

Andrea Monte¹, Jiri Skypala², Dominik Vilimek³, Vladimir Juras⁴, Daniel Jandacka²

Affiliations

¹ Human Motion Diagnostic Center, Department of Human Movement Studies, University of Ostrava, 70200 Ostrava, Czech Republic; Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy. Electronic address: andrea.monte@univr.it.
² Human Motion Diagnostic Center, Department of Human Movement Studies, University of Ostrava, 70200 Ostrava, Czech Republic.
³ Department of Cybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, VSB - Technical University of Ostrava, 17. listopadu 15, Ostrava - Poruba 70800, Czech Republic.
⁴ High Field MR Centre, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image-guided Therapy, Medical University of Vienna, Austria.

PMID: 37696235
DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2023.111796

Abstract

Achilles tendon stiffness (kAT) and Young's modulus (yAT) are important determinants of tendon function. However, their evaluation requires sophisticated equipment and time-consuming procedures. The goal of this study was twofold: to compare kAT and yAT between populations using the classical approach proposed in the literature (a combination of ultrasound and force data) and the MRI technique to understand the MRI's capability in determining differences in kAT and yAT. Furthermore, we investigated potential correlations between short and long T2* relaxation time, kAT and yAT to determine whether T2* relaxation time may be associated with material or structural properties. Twelve endurance and power athlete, and twelve healthy controls were recruited. AT T2* short and long components were measured using standard gradient echo MRI at rest, while kAT and yAT were evaluated using the classical method (combination of ultrasound and dynamometric measurements). Power athletes had the highest kAT (3064 ± 260, 2714 ± 260 and 2238 ± 189 N/mm for power athletes, endurance athletes and healthy control, respectively) and yAT (2.39 ± 0.28, 1.64 ± 0.22 and 1.97 ± 0.32 GPa for power athletes, endurance athletes and healthy control, respectively) and the lowest T2* short component (0.58 ± 0.07, 0.77 ± 0.06 and 0.74 ± 0.08 ms for power athletes, endurance athletes and healthy control, respectively). Endurance athletes had the highest T2* long component value. No correlations were reported between T2* long component, kAT or yAT in the investigated populations, whereas the T2* short component was negatively correlated with yAT. These results suggest that T2* short component could be used to investigate the differences in AT material properties in different populations.

Keywords: Evaluation; MRI; Stiffness; Tendon mechanics; Young's modulus.