Isolated Tear of the Distal Biceps Femoris Tendon in a Young Elite Australian Rules Football Player

Na In Sun,Down Stuart,Hancock Scott

doi:10.23937/2469-5718/1510182

Abstract

Isolated tear of the distal biceps femoris tendon is rare in athletes. A recent systematic review identified only a total of 22 athletes with such injuries. More specifically, only one previously reported case in an athlete outlined a tear localised to the distal tendon, as opposed to the more commonly documented myotendinous junction. Most of these injuries were treated surgically (n = 20/22) with mean (± SD) overall time to return to sport of 4.9 +/- 3.3 months. This study presents a rare case of an isolated tear of the distal biceps femoris tendon in an elite athlete under the age of 18.

Highlights

The hamstring muscle complex consists of the biceps femoris, the semitendinosus and the semimembranosus [1]
Et al conducted a systematic review and identified a total of 22 athletes with isolated distal biceps femoris tendon tearing sustained during sporting activities from December 1970 to December 2017 [3]
As discussed earlier, isolated tears of the distal biceps femoris tendon is rare in athletes [3]

Summary

Introduction

The hamstring muscle complex consists of the biceps femoris, the semitendinosus and the semimembranosus [1]. The subject was a high school student playing Australian Rules Football at an elite competitive level for one of the Under-18 (U18) Australian Football League (AFL) clubs in addition to another local club He did not recall a specific traumatic event heralding the onset of his symptoms, but continued to report activity-related lateral pain to his right knee, in the region of the head of the fibula. Initial phase of rehabilitation primarily focused on two weeks of off-loading the injured knee from lower limb impact activities and forceful hamstring contraction to achieve participation in daily activities without pain During this period, the subject abstained from jogging,. There was still trivial tenderness to firm palpation of the distal biceps femoris tendon and fibular head at this point Otherwise, he was able to perform full passive and active range of motion on the injured knee without any pain. Have been an element of good fortune in our subject’s rapid return to sport, he carried out appropriate, guided rehabilitation with progressive loading and passed all clinical tests prior to a return to both training and game play (Table 1)

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion