Bilateral Lower Limb Biomechanics During Side-Cutting in Unilateral Patellar Tendinopathy

NCT07463560 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: M20260228
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 60
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Patellar tendinopathy (PT) is a common overuse injury in sports that involve jumping and directional changes. The biomechanical differences between individuals with PT and healthy controls during side-cutting, as well as whether both legs are similarly affected, remain unclear. This study aimed to compare the kinematics and kinetics of the affected leg in patients with PT, their unaffected leg, and healthy controls during side-cutting. Methods: Thirty patients with PT and thirty healthy participants performed a side-cutting task. Motion capture and force plates were used to collect data. Five peak ground reaction forces (GRFs) and the corresponding hip, knee, and ankle joint angles and moments were analyzed. Statistical comparisons were performed using t-tests with Bonferroni correction.

Conditions

Patellar Tendinopathy

Keywords

patellar tendinopathy; side-cutting; biomechanical characteristics

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Vicon 3D gait test

  All subjects wore athletic shorts, fully exposing the waist and the area below the mid-thigh. After reflective markers were attached, participants familiarized themselves with the movement collection requirements and procedures according to the testing protocol. At the start of the formal test, participants began the approach run as soon as they heard the command "Start." They sprinted at maximal speed, accurately planting the tested leg on the second force plate, after which the contralateral leg stepped at an angle of approximately 45°. A one-minute rest interval was provided between trials, and participants were confirmed to be free of any obvious signs of fatigue or discomfort before each test. No pain was elicited throughout the testing session. Each participant completed three successful trials for each lower limb, defined as trials completed according to the experimental requirements within the prescribed time, from which complete kinematic and kinetic data were collected.

  Day 1 (single time point)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Visual Analogue Scale for Pain and VISA-P Scale

  Day 1 (single time point)

• Surface electromyography signal parameters

  Day 1 (single time point)

Study Arms (2)

Experimental group

patients with patellar tendinopathy

control group

healthy individuals

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 50 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)
• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with PT were recruited from the outpatient clinic of Peking University Third Hospital and via hospital posters, whereas healthy controls were recruited through posters targeting healthy individuals. All participants read and signed the approved informed consent form before data collection.

You may qualify if:

• Age 18-40 years and regular participation in sports, defined as engaging in physical activities for at least 90 minutes per week over the past three months, such as basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, long-distance running, and other sports activities,
• Structural tendon changes on imaging, including tendon thickening, hypoechogenicity, and/or increased neovascularization on Doppler ultrasound, or increased signal intensity on T2-weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) sequences relative to normal tendon tissue, with observable localized edema, inflammation, or degenerative changes,
• positive tenderness response upon palpation of the patellar tendon,
• reproduction of patellar tendon pain during resisted knee extension and/or during a standardized single-leg squat test,
• a score of ≤ 80 on the VISA-P (Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Patella) questionnaire.
• Participants were reported regular participation in sports, defined as engaging in physical activities for at least 90 minutes per week over the past three months, such as basketball, soccer, tennis, volleyball, long-distance running, and other sports activities,
• no history of knee injury,
• no history of lower-limb surgery,
• normal range of motion of the lower-limb joints (hip, knee, and ankle joints with no limitations in active or passive movements, within the normal physiological range),
• no history of chronic joint disorders, including current or pre-existing knee pain, PT, or functional impairment
• no evidence of patellar tendon pathology on ultrasound or MRI.

You may not qualify if:

• a history of trauma to other lower limb joints,
• a history of surgery on any lower limb joint,
• use of analgesic medication in the past two weeks,
• the presence of other lower limb pathologies.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Peking University Third Hospital: lead

Study Sites (1)

Beijing Key Laboratory of Research and Translation for Drugs and Medical Devices in Precision Diagnosis and Treatment of Sports

Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

Location

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: CASE CONTROL
• Time Perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 1, 2026
• First Posted: March 11, 2026
• Study Start: July 15, 2023
• Primary Completion: May 30, 2025
• Study Completion: May 31, 2025
• Last Updated: March 11, 2026

Record last verified: 2023-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CN (1)