Flexor hallucis longus tendon morphology in dancers clinically diagnosed with tendinopathy

Purpose The unique demands of dance technique make dancers more prone to certain pathologies especially of the foot and ankle. Flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendinopathy, colloquially known as “dancer’s tendinopathy,” is common in dancers and not well studied. The purpose of this study was to assess if morphological alterations in tendon structure occur as an adaptive response to dance activity by comparing the FHL tendon in dancers to non-dancers, and if pathology further alters tendon morphology in dancers clinically diagnosed with tendinopathy. Methods Three groups of ten participants were recruited (healthy non-dancers, healthy dancers, and dancers with FHL tendinopathy). Ultrasound images of the FHL tendons were analyzed for macromorphology by measuring the tendon thickness. The micromorphology was analyzed by determining the peak spatial frequency radius of the tendon. Our study did find increased tendon proper and composite tendon thickness in dancers with tendinopathy but no difference between asymptomatic dancers and non-dancers. Results There was no significant difference in micromorphology found between any of the groups. As expected, dancers with tendinopathy demonstrated increased composite tendon and tendon proper thickness however, there was no evidence of adaptive thickening of the FHL tendon as might be expected for the dance population. There was also no evidence of micromorphological changes in the presence of clinically diagnosed FHL tendinopathy. Conclusion Because of the limited normative data for this pathology, these results can help improve diagnosis and therefore treatment for dancers to decrease the impact of this injury on their careers.