Patellar tendinopathy (PT) typically affects jumping‐sport athletes with functional impairments frequently observed. Alterations to the functional organization of corticomotor neurons within the motor cortex that project to working muscles are evident in some musculoskeletal conditions and linked to functional impairments. We aimed to determine if functional organization of corticomotor neuron projections differs between athletes with PT and asymptomatic controls, and if organization is associated with neuromuscular control. We used a cross‐sectional design, and the setting was Monash Biomedical Imaging. Basketball and volleyball athletes with (n = 8) and without PT (n = 8) completed knee extension and ankle dorsiflexion force matching tasks while undergoing fMRI. We determined functional organization via identification of the location of peak corticomotor neuron activation during respective tasks (expressed in X, Y, and Z coordinates) and calculated force matching accuracy for both tasks to quantify neuromuscular control. We observed significant interactions between group and coordinate plane for functional organization of corticomotor projections to knee extensors (p < 0.001) and ankle dorsiflexors (p = 0.016). Compared to controls, PT group peak corticomotor activation during the knee extension task was 9.6 mm medial (p < 0.001) and 5.2 mm posterior (p = 0.036), and during the ankle dorsiflexion task 8.2 mm inferior (p = 0.024). In the PT group, more posterior Y coordinate peak activation location during the knee extension task was associated with greater task accuracy (r = 0.749, p = 0.034). Functional organization of corticomotor neurons differed in jumping athletes with PT compared to controls. Links between functional organization and neuromuscular control in the PT group suggest organizational differences may be relevant to knee extension neuromuscular control preservation.

中文翻译：

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与无症状对照组相比，患有髌腱病的篮球和排球运动员运动皮层内皮质运动神经元的功能组织存在差异


髌腱病（PT）通常影响跳跃运动运动员，经常观察到功能障碍。在某些肌肉骨骼疾病中，运动皮层内投射到工作肌肉的皮质运动神经元的功能组织发生了明显的改变，并且与功能障碍有关。我们的目的是确定患有 PT 的运动员和无症状对照运动员的皮质运动神经元投射的功能组织是否不同，以及组织是否与神经肌肉控制相关。我们使用了横截面设计，设置是莫纳什生物医学成像。进行过 PT（n = 8）和未进行 PT（n = 8）的篮球和排球运动员在接受 fMRI 时完成了膝关节伸展和踝关节背屈力匹配任务。我们通过识别各个任务期间皮质运动神经元激活峰值的位置（以 X、Y 和 Z 坐标表示）来确定功能组织，并计算这两项任务的力匹配精度以量化神经肌肉控制。我们观察到，对于膝伸肌 (p < 0.001) 和踝背屈肌 (p = 0.016) 的皮质运动投射的功能组织，组和坐标平面之间存在显着的相互作用。与对照组相比，PT 组在膝关节伸展任务期间的峰值皮质运动激活为内侧 9.6 毫米（p < 0.001）和后侧 5.2 毫米（p = 0.036），而在踝背屈任务期间为下方 8.2 毫米（p = 0.024）。在 PT 组中，膝关节伸展任务期间更靠后的 Y 坐标峰值激活位置与更高的任务准确性相关（r = 0.749，p = 0.034）。与对照组相比，患有 PT 的跳跃运动员的皮质运动神经元的功能组织有所不同。 PT 组中功能组织和神经肌肉控制之间的联系表明组织差异可能与膝关节伸展神经肌肉控制的保留有关。