A test of the effectiveness of the Coimbra method in capturing activity-induced entheseal changes

Abstract

The current paper tests the effectiveness of entheseal changes in expressing activity patterns when the former have been recorded using the new Coimbra method. Changes on the subscapularis and biceps brachii were recorded using the Coimbra method on 78 males from the documented Athens Collection. Generalized Linear Models were adopted with entheseal changes as dependent variable and cross-sectional geometric properties, age, and body mass as predictors. The results suggest that age is the factor most frequently affecting entheseal changes; however, its impact is not as systematic as found in previous studies. Body mass is rarely statistically significant, again contradicting earlier studies. Finally, activity proxied by cross-sectional geometric properties is occasionally significant but no clear pattern emerges that can associate specific entheseal morphological changes with specific directions of mechanical loading.