Tag Archives: achilles tendon

‘Overpronation’ and achilles tendon blood flow

Those who have done one of my Clinical Biomechanics Boot Camps know the dilemma I have of about the pathomechanical link between foot biomechanics and load in the Achilles tendon, and the speculation that it’s potentially a joint moment issue at the subtalar joint and not the ankle joint. Having said that, this new study […] Continue reading

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Minimalist vs Maximalist Running Shoes and Achilles Tendon Loads

Sometimes I struggle to decide what to include as the title of a blog post; this time is no exception. Should I title this post: “Minimalist Running Shoes Increase the Achilles Tendon Load” or should I title it “Maximalist Running Shoes Decreases the Achilles Tendon Load“? (I played with the headline concept before, here). Continue reading

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Custom made vs sham foot orthotics for achilles tendinopathy

I recently reviewed a study that showed foot orthotics reduced the load in the Achilles tendon but lamented by reflecting on comments that this was not a clinical trial, but a lab based study. Nothing wrong with that, but without field or clinical based studies we do not know if those lab based effects can be translated to the field or clinic. Previous studies on this had mixed results with one showing quite dramatic positive effects of foot orthotics, but lacked a control group and others had the potential for too much bias Continue reading

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The effects of foot orthoses on achilles tendon loads

Foot orthotics are commonly used to reduce load in the tissues to help manage overuse injuries in runners. Continue reading

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Risk factors for achilles tendon pain in runners

Last week I reported on a study that found a correlation between timing of events of the gluteal muscles and achilles tendinopathy . This was a correlation study and the achilles pain could have easily altered the gait to give the findings in the gluteal muscles or it could be that the gluteal muscles timing issue was involved in the pathogenesis of achilles tendon pathology. Continue reading

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Forefoot strikers exhibit lower running-induced knee loading than rearfoot strikers

One thing that I have been consistent in saying is that different running forms load different tissues differently. From a clinical perspective, this is not a matter of one ‘form’ being better than another, its about what gait changes can be made to reduce the load on any tissues that there are problematic issues with Continue reading

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Achilles Tendinopathy and Body Mass Index

Achilles tendinopathy is no different to any other overuse injury in that the cause is the cumulative loads in the tissue are beyond what the tissue can take. There are a number of factors that increases the cumulative loads and make the tissues more susceptible to those loads Continue reading

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The Effect of Foot Strike Pattern on Achilles Tendon Load During Running

No sooner than I posted about the undergraduate project that looked at Achilles loads between shod and barefoot running that this next study from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on the effects of loads in the Achilles tendon with different foot strike patterns turns up. Here is the abstract: The Effect of Foot Strike Pattern on Achilles Tendon Load During Running. Almonroeder T, Willson JD, Kernozek TW. Continue reading

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Severs Disease of the Heel in Younger Runners

Severs disease is a problem in the heel that younger runners are prone to. The back part of the heel bone up until about the mid teens is a very active growing area and as this is the part of the heel that hits the ground and also has the Achilles tendon attached to it, it is subject to a lot of load. If activity levels are high, especially on hard surfaces then this is really prone to develop a strain of this growth area Continue reading

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