Study design & methods
Double blind randomised control trial Subjects: • Twenty-two men and 28 women aged 18 to 40 years were allocated into 2 equally matched groups. ESWT protocol • All patients in the study group received 4 sessions of shockwave at weekly intervals using an ESWT machine. • Each session of ESWT consisted of 2000 pulses with 3 bar pressure (equals an energy flux density of 0.1 mJ/mm²) and frequency of 8 pulses/s. • The patients in both groups were instructed to perform eccentric heel drops for 3 sets of 15 repetitions (with a 1-minute rest between sets), twice a day (morning and evening), 7 d/wk, for 4 weeks Outcome measures • Function and pain were assessed at baseline, 1 month, and 16 months using the Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment-Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A) and visual analog scale (VAS), respectively. • Mixed-design analysis of variance and nonparametric statistics were performed • Both groups significantly improved posttreatment (VISA-A: 85 ± 6.2 vs 53.4 ± 7.7 and VAS: 1 ± 2 vs 7 ± 2, respectively). • At the 16-month follow-up, outcome scores declined slightly but significantly in the study group (VISA-A: 80 ± 5.3; VAS: 3 ± 2) and improved in the control group (VISA-A: 67 ± 5.6; VAS: 5 ± 1). • Both groups were significantly better than baseline. • At both time points, the study group had significantly superior scores (statistically and clinically) than the control group (P = .0001) Combining calf eccentric loading with stretching exercises resulted in significant improvements in the pain and functional scores in patients with NAT. Adding ESWT to this combined protocol resulted in significantly greater improvements in both the short and long term
Results
Conclusion
Key message
Combining Radial Pressure Wave and eccentric exercise provides significant improvement in pain and function for non-insertional Achilles tendinopathy
Pubmed
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33451253/
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