The relationship between lower leg lean tissue, functional index scores and triceps surae endurance in athletes

Context: Minimal research has been conducted to determine the relationship between lean calf girth and anterior shin pain. Research has revealed decreased lean muscle mass as a possible contributory factor to the lower leg's incapacity to adapt to loading forces and withstand injury.;Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the role, if any, lean calf girth and lower leg endurance have in the occurrence of anterior shin pain.;Setting: The testing was done in Hamer Gymnasium and Dance Studio on the campus of California University of Pennsylvania.;Participants: Fourteen student-athletes from volleyball, football and men and women's soccer at California University of PA volunteered for this study (10 females, 4 males).;Intervention: Subjects completed a preliminary questionnaire, followed by a Lower Limb Functional Index, height, weight, BIA, calf girth, calf skinfold and muscular endurance measurements.;Main Outcome Measures: Three Pearson Product Correlations were conducted for statistical analysis. The three variables included subjects' lean calf girth, muscular endurance scores and LLFI scores. Two Independent-Sample t tests were conducted to compare muscular endurance scores and lean calf girth measurements between subjects that identified and did not identify a history of anterior shin pain.;Results: The Pearson Product Correlation comparing subjects' average muscular endurance score, average LLFI score and average lean calf girth found no significance among the three variables. The Pearson Product Correlations comparing muscular endurance score, LLFI score and lean calf girth in the dominant leg and non-dominant leg found no significance among the three variables. An independent-samples t test comparing the mean scores of the subjects with and without a history of anterior shin pain found a significant difference between the means of the two groups comparing lean calf girth (t(16.716) = 3.972, p = .001). An independent-samples t test comparing the mean scores of the subjects with and without a history of anterior shin pain illustrated no significant difference between the means of the two groups comparing mean muscular endurance scores (t(20.582)= .939, p > .05).;Conclusion: This study revealed subjects with a history of anterior shin pain have a significantly lower mean lean calf girth then subjects without a history of anterior shin pain. However, comparing average lean calf girth, average LLFI score and average muscular endurance score among subjects there is no statistical significance between the three variables. There was no significance found between LLFI score, muscular endurance score and lean calf girth among subjects when looking at the dominant or non-dominant leg.