Abstract
Musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries from athletic activities are common in the rotator cuff tendons, lateral epicondyle of the elbow, the patella tendon, and the Achilles tendon. Despite the fact that the Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the human body, it is frequently injured in the athletic setting. To study the etiology and pathogenesis of Achilles tendon injuries, our goal was to develop a model of Achilles tendon overuse by evaluating the Achilles tendons from animals subjected to the exercise protocol previously described as overuse for the supraspinatus tendon. We hypothesized that the same exercise protocol would produce injuries to the Achilles tendon as demonstrated by changes in the cross-sectional area and biomechanical properties. While a significant injury was induced into the supraspinatus tendon, we found no changes in the Achilles tendons of these exercised animals based on gross observation, geometric measurements, and mechanical testing analyses. Although surprising, there are many possible explanations for these findings including differences in potential injury mechanisms, functional capabilities of the differing tendons, and other factors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahmed, I. M., M. Lagopoulos, P. McConnell, R. W. Soames, and G. K. Sefton. Blood supply of the Achilles tendon. J. Orthop. Res. 16:591-596, 1998.
Archambault, J. M., D. A. Hart, and W. Herzog. Response of rabbit Achilles tendon to chronic repetitive loading. Connect. Tissue Res. 42:13-23, 2001.
Armstrong, R. B., R. W. Ogilvie, and J. A. Schwane. Eccentric exercise-induced injury to rat skeletal muscle. J. Appl. Physiol. 54:80-93, 1983.
Buchanan, C. I., and R. L. Marsh. Effects of long-term exercise on the biomechanical properties of the Achilles tendon of guinea fowl. J. Appl. Physiol. 90:164-171, 2001.
Carpenter, J. E., C. L. Flanagan, S. Thomopoulos, E. H. Yian, and L. J. Soslowsky. The effects of overuse combined with intrinsic or extrinsic alterations in an animal model of rotator cuff tendinosis. Am. J. Sports Med. 26:801-807, 1998.
Codman, E. A. Rupture of the supraspinatus tendon. 1911. Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. 254:3-26, 1990.
Galloway, M. T., P. Jokl, and O. W. Dayton. Achilles tendon overuse injuries. Clin. Sports Med. 11:771-782, 1992.
Iannotti, J., ed. Pathogenesis of Rotator Cuff Disease. Management of Rotator Cuff Syndromes. Ridge Park: AAOS, 1991.
Jarvinen, T. A., P. Kannus, M. Paavola, T. L. Jarvinen, L. Jozsa, and M. Jarvinen. Achilles tendon injuries. Curr. Opin. Rheumatol. 13:150-155, 2001.
Kannus, P., and A. Natri. Etiology and pathophysiology of tendon ruptures in sports. Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports 7:107-112, 1997.
Leppilahti, J., and S. Orava. Total Achilles tendon rupture. A review. Sports Med. 25:79-100, 1998.
Leppilahti, J., S. Orava, J. Karpakka, and T. Takala. Overuse injuries of the Achilles tendon. Ann. Chir. Gynaecol. 80:202-207, 1991.
Lohr, J. F., and H. K. Uhthoff. The microvascular pattern of the supraspinatus tendon. Clin. Orthop. Relat. Res. 254:35-38, 1990.
Maffulli, N., S.W. Ewen, S. W. Waterston, J. Reaper, and V. Barrass. Tenocytes from ruptured and tendinopathic achilles tendons produce greater quantities of type III collagen than tenocytes from normal achilles tendons. An in vitro model of human tendon healing. Am. J. Sports Med. 28:499-505, 2000.
Magnusson, S. P., and M. Kjaer. Region-specific differences in Achilles tendon cross-sectional area in runners and non-runners. Eur. J. Appl. Physiol. 90:549-553, 2003.
McCue, T., and M. F. Mazzone. Common conditions of the achilles tendon. Am. Fam. Phy. 65:1805-1810, 2002.
Messner, K., Y. Wei, B. Andersson, J. Gillquist, and T. Rasanen. Rat model of Achilles tendon disorder. A pilot study. Cells Tissues Organs 165:30-39, 1999.
Puranen, J., S. Orava, and J. Leppilahti. Incidence of Achilles tendon rupture. Acta Orthop. Scand. 67:277-279, 1996.
Pyne, D. B., M. S. Baker, R. D. Telford, and M. J. Weidermann. A treadmill protocol to investigate independently the metabolic and mechanical stress of exercise. Aust. J. Sci. Med. Sport 29:77-82, 1997.
Schepsis, A. A., H. Jones, and A. L. Haas. Achilles tendon disorders in athletes. Am. J. Sports Med. 30:287-305, 2002.
Sommer, H. M. The biomechanical and metabolic effects of a running regime on the Achilles tendon in the rat. Int. Orthop. 11:71-75, 1987.
Soslowsky, L. J., J. E. Carpenter, C. M. DeBano, I. Banerji, and M. R. Moalli. Development and use of an animal model for investigations19 on rotator cuff disease. J. Shoulder Elbow Sur. 5:383-392, 1996.
Soslowsky, L. J., S. Thomopoulos, A. Esmail, C. L. Flanagan, J. P. Iannotti, J. D. Williamson, III, and J. E. Carpenter. Rotator cuff tendinosis in an animal model: Role of extrinsic and overuse factors. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 30:1057-1063, 2002.
Soslowsky, L. J., S. Thomopoulos, S. Tun, C. L. Flanagan, C. C. Keefer, J. Mastaw, and J. E. Carpenter. Neer Award 1999. Overuse activity injures the supraspinatus tendon in an animal model: A histologic and biomechanical study. J. Shoulder Elbow Sur. 9:79-84, 2000.
Tomczak, R. L. Surgery of the Achilles' tendon. Clin. Podiatr. Med. Surg. 18:255-271, 2001. s
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Huang, TF., Perry, S.M. & Soslowsky, L.J. The Effect of Overuse Activity on Achilles Tendon in an Animal Model: A Biomechanical Study. Annals of Biomedical Engineering 32, 336–341 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ABME.0000017537.26426.76
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:ABME.0000017537.26426.76