Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Dec 17;5(4):95.
doi: 10.3390/jfmk5040095.

Achilles Tendon Rupture: Mechanisms of Injury, Principles of Rehabilitation and Return to Play

Domiziano Tarantino  1 , Stefano Palermi  1 , Felice Sirico  1 , Bruno Corrado  1
Affiliations
Review

Achilles Tendon Rupture: Mechanisms of Injury, Principles of Rehabilitation and Return to Play

Domiziano Tarantino et al. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. .

Abstract

The Achilles tendon is the thickest, strongest and largest tendon in the human body, but despite its size and tensile strength, it frequently gets injured. Achilles tendon ruptures (ATRs) mainly occur during sports activities, and their incidence has increased over the last few decades. Achilles tendon tears necessitate a prolonged recovery time, sometimes leaving long-term functional limitations. Treatment options include conservative treatment and surgical repair. There is no consensus on which is the best treatment for ATRs, and their management is still controversial. Limited scientific evidence is available for optimized rehabilitation regimen and on the course of recovery after ATRs. Furthermore, there are no universally accepted outcomes regarding the return to play (RTP) process. Therefore, the aim of this narrative review is to give an insight into the mechanism of injuries of an ATR, related principles of rehabilitation, and RTP.

Keywords: Achilles tendon; rehabilitation; return to play; tendon rupture.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Maffulli N., Aicale R., Tarantino D. Tendinopathy of the Achilles Tendon. In: Allegra F., Cortese F., Lijoi F., editors. Ankle Joint Arthroscopy: A Step-By-Step Guide. Springer; Cham, Switzerland: 2020. pp. 227–237. - DOI
    1. Aicale R., Tarantino D., Maffulli N. Non-Insertional Achilles Tendinopathy: State of the Art. In: Canata G.L., d’Hooghe P., Hunt K.J., Kerkhoffs G., Longo U.G., editors. Sports Injury of The Foot and Ankle: A Focus on Advanced Surgical Techniques. Springer; Berlin, Germany: 2019. pp. 359–367. - DOI
    1. Oda H., Sano K., Kunimasa Y., Komi P.V., Ishikawa M. Neuromechanical Modulation of the Achilles Tendon During Bilateral Hopping in Patients with Unilateral Achilles Tendon Rupture, Over 1 Year After Surgical Repair. Sports Med. 2017;47:1221–1230. doi: 10.1007/s40279-016-0629-3. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Dams O.C., Akker-Scheek I.V.D., Diercks R.L., Wendt K.W., Bosma E., Van Raaij T.M., Munzebrock A.V., Zijlstra W.P., Zwerver J., Reininga I.H.F. The recovery after Achilles tendon rupture: A protocol for a multicenter prospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskelet. Disord. 2019;20:1–8. doi: 10.1186/s12891-019-2437-z. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wertz J., Galli M., Borchers J.R. Achilles Tendon Rupture: Risk Assessment for Aerial and Ground Athletes. Sports Health. 2013;5:407–409. doi: 10.1177/1941738112472165. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources