 R. S. Kearney, PhD, MSc, NIHR Clinical Lecturer (Physiotherapy), Warwick Clinical Trials Unit  N. Parsons, BSc, MSc, PhD, Medical Statistician, Warwick Medical School  M. Underwood, FRCGP, MD, Director, Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, Professor of Primary Care Research  M. L. Costa, FRCS(Tr&Orth), PhD, Professor of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Warwick Clinical Trials Unit University of Wa...

BACKGROUND The Achilles tendon, the largest and strongest tendon in the human body, is nevertheless one of the tendons which most commonly undergoes a complete subcutaneous tear. Achilles tendon ruptures are especially common in middle aged men who occasionally participate in sport. Even though Achilles tendon ruptures are frequent, up to 25% of acute injuries are misdiagnosed, and present as c...

Spontaneous Achilles tendon rupture poses a reconstruction problem of great clinical interest because this is the third most common tendon tear 1, and its correction involves the orthopedic surgeon. It occurs mainly in men with a sedentary lifestyle and generally aged between 40 and 50 years, though it can also occur in individuals who exercise regularly and in top-level athletes.Various mechan...

Doping taboos I read with interest your editorial entitled "Doping Taboos". I have a particular concern at present involving the use of drugs and asthmatic athletes. Up to 16% of children may have asthma and in adults this prevalence may approach 12 %. Conventional therapy for asthmatics involves the early introduction of anti-inflammatory agents such as inhaled corticosteroids with the use of ...

A 60-year-old man presented to the emergency department complaining of acute onset posterior ankle pain. He reported playing tennis earlier in the afternoon when he suddenly stopped and pivoted, noting a “pop” sensation and pain to the right posterior ankle. The pain was sharp and increased with movement. The patient also experienced difficulty weight bearing and ambulating. There was a palpabl...

CONTEXT Achilles tendon (AT) rupture in athletes is increasing in incidence and accounts for one of the most devastating sports injuries because of the threat to alter or end a career. Despite the magnitude of this injury, reliable risk assessment has not been clearly defined, and prevention strategies have been limited. The purpose of this review is to identify potential intrinsic and extrinsi...

Achilles tendon tear is common and increasingly frequent. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the modality of choice for radiological evaluation. It is accurate to assess the status and integrity of the tendon with well documented features. In this article, the MR findings of a normal Achilles tendon as well as common diseases like insertional and noninsertional tendinosis, chronic tendinosis w...

A case of heel pain is presented. The clinical presentation implicates the pathological processes of acute retrocalcaneal bursitis, Achilles tendinosis, partial rupture of the tendon possibly as a result of repetitive corticosteroid injection, and subsequent calf atrophy and functional disability. Finally, aspects of predisposing factors, biomechanics, pathology, and clinical management of Achi...

Achilles tendon ruptures and malleol fractures are commonly seen injuries in orthopaedic and traumatology practice, but what is rare is their concomitant. In this report, we aimed to present a rare case of a patient who has isolated medial malleolar fracture and achilles tendon rupture in ipsilateral ankle after an ankle sprain due to a fall from stairs and mechanism of injury.

Background. Acute degenerative Achilles tendons ruptures may be managed either operatively or nonoperatively with the superiority of the operative treatment in reducing the risk of rerupture. Acute rupture of Achilles tendon is commonly seen in diabetic patients. Open techniques for Achilles tendon repair have been associated with significant complications as deep infection and wound-related pr...