The effects of smoking on tendon thickness and degeneration in young amateur sportspeople

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of smoking on tendinopathies detected by ultrasound in active amateur sportspeople. Fourteen male, 19 female, total 33 amateur sportspeople (mean age, 20.5±2.5) were investigated. Both patellar and Achilles tendons were imaged by high resolution ultrasound. The antero-posterior thicknesses and pathologies (if present) of the tendons were determined. Twenty two (66.7%) of the sportsmen were nonsmokers and 11 (33.3%) were smokers. The mean number of cigarettes smoked in a day was 9.4±4.5; mean duration of cigarette smoking was 3.7±1.6 years. 17 tendinopathies (12.9% of tendons) were detected in 12 sportsmen (36.4% of sportsmen). No significant difference was found between the smoker and nonsmoker groups according to the incidence of tendinopathies (p>0.05). The thickness of the tendons did not differ according to smoking status for both patellar and Achilles tendons (p>0.05 for all comparisons). In conclusion, the tendon thickness and incidence of tendinous degeneration do not differ between smoker and nonsmoker sportsmen.