From shoulder to ankle: A cross-sectional study of tendinopathy prevalence across the athletic population

Athletes frequently develop tendinopathy, an overuse condition that causes pain, limited mobility, and tendon degeneration. Athletic populations are affected by both lower and upper limb tendinopathies, while the lower limb tendinopathy has been more commonly seen, like Achilles tendinopathy, patellar tendinopathy, rotator cuff tendinitis, etc. The focus of this study is to assess the prevalence of specific tendinopathies such as rotator cuff tendinopathy, tennis elbow, patellar tendinopathy, hamstring tendinopathy, Achilles tendinopathy, and others within the context of a broader investigation on tendinopathies affecting the upper limb, lower limb, and other regions among different athletic populations. A random selection of 548 athletes from various sports disciplines participated in the study. Each athlete was evaluated by a physiotherapist, using the Questionnaire for Sports Athletes with and without Tendinopathy (QSAT) to assess demographic factors and symptoms. The prevalence of tendinopathies was determined using proportion estimation, with 95% confidence intervals calculated to ensure result accuracy. The overall prevalence of tendinopathy is 39% and the prevalence of lower limb tendinopathy is more than upper limb tendinopathy. The result shows that the prevalence of Achilles and patellar tendinopathies (6.20% each) was the most common in the lower limb, while that of rotator cuff tendinopathy (6.02%) was the most frequent in the upper limbs. Erector spinae tendinopathy had the highest prevalence (2.92%) among other body regions. The study concludes that the Achilles and patellar tendinopathies were the most common, followed by rotator cuff tendinopathy. Among other body regions, erector spinae tendinopathy showed the highest prevalence.