Expressions of thyroid and growth hormones as risk factors for Achilles tendinopathy in a population of Nigerian football players: A preliminary study

Background: Achilles Tendinopathy (AT) has become a global concern in Sports Medicine especially as it results in interruption of the athletes’ career. Several intrinsic and extrinsic factors have been postulated to predispose a person to AT. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of expressions of thyroid and growth hormones and their association with Achilles Tendinopathy. Materials and Methods: This study involved 70 football players who were recruited across football clubs in Lagos, Nigeria. Ethical approval was obtained from the institutional Health Research and Ethics Committee and informed consent was obtained from each participant. The presence of Achilles tendinopathy was determined using the Royal London Hospital Test and confirmed by ultrasonography. 5ml of blood was taken from each footballer using EDTA and plain bottles. Growth and Thyroid hormones were measured with Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). Significance was set at p< 0.05. Results: The serum level of growth hormones and triiodothyronine (fT3) was lower in participants with AT 2.98 ± 3.3.69 and 2.98 ± 3.69 compared to controls 3.39 ± 1.18 and 6.79 ± 8.08 (p<0.05). There was no significant association of growth hormone with Achilles tendinopathy, p= 0.050. Triiodothyronine (fT3) and thyroxine (fT4) were significantly associated with Achilles tendinopathy p<0.001 and p =0.028 respectively, but there was no significant difference in the level of TSH of players with and without Achilles tendinopathy. Conclusion: Reduced thyroid hormone is strongly associated with Achilles tendinopathy among Nigerian footballers.