Maximum dorsiflexion increases Achilles tendon force during exercise for midportion Achilles tendinopathy
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Yeh, Chia
Calder, James
Antflick, Jarrod
Bull, Anthony
Kedgley, Angela
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Rehabilitation is an important treatment for non-insertional Achilles tendinopathy. To date, eccentric loading exercises (ECC) have been the predominant choice; however, mechanical evidence underlying their use remains unclear. Other protocols, such as heavy slow resistance loading (HSR), have shown comparable outcomes, but with less training time. This study aims to identify the effect of external loading and other variables that influence Achilles tendon (AT) force in ECC and HSR. Ground reaction force and kinematic data during ECC and HSR were collected from 18 healthy participants for four loading conditions. The moment arms of the AT were estimated from MRIs of each participant. AT force then was calculated using the ankle torque obtained from inverse dynamics. In the eccentric phase, the AT force was not larger than in the concentric phase in both ECC and HSR. Under the same external load, the force through the AT was larger in ECC with the knee bent than in HSR with the knee straight due to increased dorsiflexion angle of the ankle. Multivariate regression analysis showed that external load and maximum dorsiflexion angle were significant predictors of peak AT force in both standing and seated positions. Therefore, to increase the effectiveness of loading the AT, exercises should apply adequate external load and reach maximum dorsiflexion during the movement. Peak dorsiflexion angle affected the AT force in a standing position at twice the rate of a seated position, suggesting standing could prove more effective for the same external loading and peak dorsiflexion angle.
Date Issued
2021-08-01
Date Acceptance
2021-04-09
Citation
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 2021, 31 (8), pp.1674-1682
ISSN
0905-7188
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons
Start Page
1674
End Page
1682
Journal / Book Title
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
Volume
31
Issue
8
Copyright Statement
© 2021 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science In Sports published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Subjects
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Sport Sciences
Achilles tendon
midportion Achilles tendinopathy
rehabilitation
tendon moment arm
Achilles tendon
midportion Achilles tendinopathy
rehabilitation
tendon moment arm
Achilles Tendon
Adult
Biomechanical Phenomena
Exercise Therapy
Female
Healthy Volunteers
Humans
Male
Range of Motion, Articular
Tendinopathy
Weight-Bearing
Achilles Tendon
Humans
Range of Motion, Articular
Exercise Therapy
Weight-Bearing
Adult
Female
Male
Tendinopathy
Healthy Volunteers
Biomechanical Phenomena
1106 Human Movement and Sports Sciences
1116 Medical Physiology
Sport Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2021-04-16