Relationships between surrogate measures of mechanical and psychophysiological load, patellar tendon adaptations, and neuromuscular performance in NCAA division I men's volleyball athletes

INTRODUCTION: Patellar tendon adaptations occur in response to mechanical load. Appropriate loading is necessary to elicit positive adaptations with increased risk of injury and decreased performance likely if loading exceeds the capacity of the tendon. The aim of the current study was to examine intra-individual associations between workloads and patellar tendon properties and neuromuscular performance in collegiate volleyball athletes. METHODS: National Collegiate Athletics Association Division I men's volleyball athletes (n = 16, age: 20.33 ± 1.15 years, height: 193.50 ± 6.50 cm, body mass: 84.32 ± 7.99 kg, bodyfat%: 13.18 ± 4.72%) competing across 9 weeks of in-season competition participated. Daily measurements of external workloads (i.e., jump count) and internal workloads [i.e., session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE)] were recorded. Weekly measurements included neuromuscular performance assessments (i.e., countermovement jump, drop jump), and ultrasound images of the patellar tendon to evaluate structural adaptations. Repeated measures correlations (r-rm) assessed intra-individual associations among performance and patellar tendon metrics. RESULTS: Workload measures exhibited significant negative small to moderate (r-rm =−0.26–0.31) associations with neuromuscular performance, negative (r-rm = −0.21–0.30), and positive (r-rm = 0.20–0.32) small to moderate associations with patellar tendon properties. DISCUSSION: Monitoring change in tendon composition and performance adaptations alongside workloads may inform evidence-based frameworks toward managing and reducing the risk of the development of patellar tendinopathy in collegiate men's volleyball athletes.