Management of Achilles tendinopathy in runners-LER
By Howard Kashefsky, DPM
Achilles tendinopathy is a common lower extremity injury in athletes as well as nonathletes. The Achilles tendon is often a site of injury in runners and is the second-most common running-related musculo¬skeletal injury, after medial tibial stress syndrome, with an incidence of 9.1% to 10.9%.
1 The lifetime risk in former elite male distance runners is 52%.
2 Factors that may contribute to Achilles tendinopathy include overuse, systemic disease, older age, sex, body composition, and biomechanics.
3 Elevated biomechanical load has been shown to cause both microscopic and macroscopic failures.4-6
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