Affiliations: [a] Carrera de Kinesiología, Departamento de Cs. de la Salud, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| [b] Laboratorio integrativo de biomecánica y fisiología del esfuerzo, LIBFE, Escuela de Kinesiología, Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile
| [c] Departamento de Ciencias de la Actividad Física, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile
| [d] Centro de Investigacion en Fisiologia del Ejercicio (CIFE), Universidad Mayor, Santiago, Chile
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Aquiles Yañez, PhD, Centro de Investigacion en Fisiologia del Ejercicio (CIFE), Universidad Mayor, #8580745, Santiago, Chile. Tel.: +56 978061921; E-mail: aquiles.yanez@umayor.cl.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Immediate rehabilitation is increasingly used for tendon injuries, but complete single-leg heel raise recovery after injury remains uncommon. PURPOSE:This study primarily determined if immediate versus traditional rehabilitation resulted in better single-leg heel raise recovery against the physiological reference, and compared performance recovery against the non-injured limb. The study also explored if clinical parameters at 4, 8, and 12 weeks post-tenorrhaphy are predictors of more single-leg heel raises at week 12 in recreational soccer players. METHOD:Twenty-six amateur soccer players (43.2±10.1 years-old, BMI 29.5±3.9 kg/m2) underwent rehabilitation using early or traditional rehabilitation following Dresden tenorrhaphy of the Achilles tendon. The main outcome was the single-leg heel raise repetitions. RESULTS:Immediate rehabilitation resulted in significantly more single-leg heel raises than traditional rehabilitation (p < 0.001). Performance capacity compared to the physiological reference was significantly greater for immediate rehabilitation (p < 0.001) but significantly lower for traditional rehabilitation (p < 0.001). Only immediate rehabilitation recovered single-leg heel raise capacity as compared to the non-injured limb (p = 0.217). The beta coefficients for weight and dorsiflexion range of motion at week 12 were respectively – 0.81±0.25 and 1.86±0.61. CONCLUSIONSImmediate AT tenorrhaphy rehabilitation more quickly recovers reference values and approximates non-injured-limb values for single-leg heel raise capacity after a 12-week physical therapy program. Dorsiflexion range of motion at week 12 and weight were predictors for more single-leg heel raise repetitions at week 12.
