Epidemiologia das tendinopatias de membros inferiores em atletas: uma revisão da literatura

Abstract

Introduction: The tendinopathy is a health condition, usually chronic, that can occur in any tendon and as the lower limbs are exposed to excessive use in athletes and non-athletes, it is common for this pathology to occur in this segment. Tendinopathies of the lower limbs have a significant impact on the athletes' careers; therefore, a deeper understanding of their epidemiology is necessary to guide prevention strategies. Objective: To perform a literature review on the epidemiology of lower limb tendinopathies in athletes. Methods: A literature review was carried out in the MEDLINE, SciELO and Research Gate databases, using the connected by the Boolean AND. The search was performed initially only with these terms, and later combining with the terms "lower extremity", "achilles tendon", "patellar ligament" and "hamstring tendon", using the Boolean AND. Epidemiology of lower limb tendinopathies in athletes, published between 2000 and 2020, in English and Portuguese was included. Results: After searching the literature, 199 studies were found, and only 6 were eligible for this review. Conclusion: Patellar tendinopathy was the most frequent lower limb tendinopathy, mainly affecting the modalities of volleyball and basketball. In addition, lower limb tendinopathies mostly affect professional and male athletes.