Abstract
Injuries due to the overuse of tendons increase with age, and it has been suggested that this correlates with hypovascularity of the tendon. In the present study, the peritendinous blood flow was determined using xenon-133 washout at rest and during standardised intermittent exercise of the calf-muscle (1.5 s contraction, 1.5 s rest, 40 min) in young (n=6; 26 years), middle-aged (n=6; 48 years), and older (n=6; 74 years) individuals. At rest, the older individuals had a lower peritendinous blood flow compared with the two other age groups. During exercise, blood flow in all three groups rose 2.5–3.5-fold to reveal similar blood flows [2.7 (SEM 0.5) to 7.8 (SEM 1.0) ml · 100 g tissue−1 min−1 (young group); 3.0 (SEM 0.4) to 7.3 (SEM 1.6) ml · 100 g tissue−1 min−1 (middle-aged group); 1.6 (SEM 0.2) to 5.5 (SEM 1.1) ml 100 g tissue−1 · min−1 (older group)]. The findings demonstrated that the peritendinous blood flow to the zone of the tendon with the highest incidence of injury from overuse is unaltered by age during exercise, and indicates that factors other than blood flow are important for the increased incidence with age of injuries from overuse.
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Accepted: 23 October 2000
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Langberg, H., Olesen, J., Skovgaard, D. et al. Age related blood flow around the Achilles tendon during exercise in humans. Eur J Appl Physiol 84, 246–248 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004210170013
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004210170013