Abstract
Chronic Achilles tendinopathy is a difficult problem to manage, because it can result
in significant patient morbidity. We conducted a prospective case series involving
26 patients (2 bilateral cases) with painful and ultrasound-confirmed Achilles tendinopathy
for a minimum duration of 6 months. Our objective was to assess whether this condition
can be effectively treated with a treatment protocol combining an intratendinous autologous-conditioned
plasma injection followed by a standardized rehabilitation protocol. The rehabilitation
protocol consisted of full weightbearing in a pneumatic cast boot for 6 weeks, therapeutic
ultrasound treatment, and an eccentric exercise program. Our results showed statistically
significant improvements in terms of pain (p < .0001), other symptoms (p = .0003), activities of daily living (p = .0002), sports activities (p = .0001), and quality of life (p = .0002). We believe that the use of autologous-conditioned plasma can provide a
potential treatment solution for chronic Achilles tendinopathy.
Level of Clinical Evidence
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 23, 2012
Footnotes
Financial Disclosure: Arthrex, Inc. (Naples, FL) supplied the centrifuge used in our investigation. None of the authors received any payment or support in any other direct or indirect way from Arthrex, Inc., and no one from Arthrex, Inc., participated in the design or execution of the study protocol.
Conflicts of Interest: None reported.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
