Treatment for Achilles tendon ruptures in athletes is controversial. Surgical fixation has lower rates of re-rupture and confers increased strength and function, whereas conservative treatment has lower risks of wound complications. We review the literature on the optimal treatment for Achilles tendon rupture in athletes.

Achilles tendinopathy is a common medical complaint. Achilles tendon injuries include acute tendinitis from overuse in two distinct anatomic areas. Acute tendinitis may turn chronic and may require surgical intervention. Achilles tendon rupture, although usually a result of trauma, may occur spontaneously. Medication including fluoroquinolone and corticosteroids can play a significant role in t...

Background Over the past thirty years, there has been dramatic increase in incidence of Achilles tendon rupture in the athletic population. The purpose of this study was to compare the lower extremity mechanics of Achilles tendon ruptured runners with healthy controls. Methods The participants with a past history of an Achilles tendon repair (n = 11) and healthy control (n = 11) subgroups wer...

Ten patients attending outpatient clinics who were taking oral corticosteroids ruptured their Achilles tendon in the course of 12 years. It is suggested that Achilles tendon rupture is a complication of corticosteroid treatment.

Active Achilles tendon kinesitherapy facilitates the functional recovery of a ruptured Achilles tendon. However, protein expression during the healing process remains a controversial issue. New Zealand rabbits, aged 14 weeks, underwent tenotomy followed immediately by Achilles tendon microsurgery to repair the Achilles tendon rupture. The tendon was then immobilized or subjected to postoperativ...

BACKGROUND The recent discovery of residing tendon stem/progenitor cells has triggered a growing interest in stem cells as a useful tool in tendon repair. Our knowledge of their involvement in naturally healing tendons is, however, sparse. The aim of this study was to identify and determine stem/progenitor cells in relation to different healing phases and regions in a rat model of Achilles tend...

The Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the body, which is commonly ruptured in male athletes. Bilateral rupture of the Achilles tendon is a rare condition with very few reported cases in the literature. It poses a challenge in management, and hence, we report a case with traumatic bilateral Achilles tendon rupture in a young male patient and its management. One side was treated conserva...

UNLABELLED The aim of this study is to show the importance of ultrasound method in the diagnosis of Achilles tendon rupture, the choice of method of treatment and monitoring of treatment using the same method. MATERIAL AND METHODS Between 1999 and 2009, 134 patients with Achilles tendon rupture were referred to our Clinic. 66 patients (with a mean age of 38 years) were treated with surgical s...

BACKGROUND Tendon-repair techniques have evolved to increase the construct strength of the repair site in order to permit early active range of motion without tendon gap or rupture. The present study evaluated the hypothesis that the injection of botulinum neurotoxin type-A (BoNT-A) into the gastrocnemius muscle will reduce the active force production of that muscle below the force required to ...

The incidence of Achilles tendon rupture has significantly increased over the last 20 years (Moller, 1996; Young and Maffulli, 2007), achieving, within the tendon diseases, an incidence between 6 and 18% (Rees et al., 2006; Mazzone and McCue, 2002; Shepsis et al., 2002). The risk of the Achilles tendon rupture is greater in the male population with a ratio included between 1.7 : 1 and 30 : 1. T...