TRAUMA-ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURE
SUMMARY
1. Common and can be acute or chronic. Rupture can occur with sudden balistic forces (such as during basketball).
2. US & MRI show typical changes that correspond to microscopic features of breakdown in the normal collagen orientation, vacuole formation, and microscopic tearing.
3. Conservative management for partial tears: analgesia, physiotherapy of muscles along the kinetic chain for ankle plantar-flexion.
4. Complete tears: surgical reconstruction followed by immobilization (up to 3 mths) & aggressive rehabilitation.
5. Incidence of a recurrent Achilles tendon rupture is lower after surgical reconstruction.
Reference(s)
Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].