Lower material stiffness in rupture-repaired Achilles tendon during walking: transmission-mode ultrasound for post-surgical tendon evaluation.

Purpose: This cross-sectional study used transmission-mode ultrasound to evaluate dynamic tendon properties during walking in surgically repaired and contralateral Achilles tendon (AT), with a median (range) post-operative period of 22 (4-58) months. It was hypothesised that the axial transmission speed of ultrasound (TSOU) during walking would be slower, indicating lower material stiffness in repaired compared with contralateral AT.

Methods: Ten patients [median (range) age 47 (37-69) years; height 180 (170-189) cm; weight 93 (62-119) kg], who had undergone open surgical repair of the AT and were clinically recovered according to their treating clinicians, walked barefoot on a treadmill at self-selected speed (1.

The Effect of an In-shoe Orthotic Heel Lift on Loading of the Achilles Tendon During Shod Walking.

Study Design: Controlled laboratory study.

Background: Orthotic heel lifts are thought to lower tension in the Achilles tendon, but evidence for this effect is equivocal.

Objective: To investigate the effect of a 12-mm, in-shoe orthotic heel lift on Achilles tendon loading during shod walking using transmission-mode ultrasonography.

Leg stiffness: comparison between unilateral and bilateral hopping tasks.

Leg stiffness is a predictor of athletic performance and injury and typically evaluated during bilateral hopping. The contribution of each limb to bilateral leg stiffness, however, is not well understood. This study investigated leg stiffness during unilateral and bilateral hopping to address the following research questions: (1) does the magnitude and variability of leg stiffness differ between dominant and non-dominant legs? (2) Does unilateral leg stiffness differ from bilateral leg stiffness? and (3) Is bilateral leg stiffness determined by unilateral leg stiffness? Thirty-two physically active males performed repeated hopping tests on a force platform for each of the three conditions: bilateral hopping, unilateral hopping on the dominant leg, and unilateral hopping on the non-dominant leg.