Rehabilitation Programs After Achilles Tendon Rupture

Achilles Tendon Rupture: Comparative Study Between Two Rehabilitation Programs.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of early mobilization versus traditional immobilization rehabilitation programs after surgical Achilles tendon repair on the mechanical (torque-angle and torque-velocity relationships) and electrical (neuromuscular activation) properties of the plantar- and dorsiflexor muscles, gastrocnemius medialis morphology (muscle architecture), functional performance, and the mechanical and material properties (force-elongation and stress-strain relationships) of the injured and uninjured Achilles tendon.

The hypothesis is that the early mobilization could reduce the deleterious effects of the joint immobilization and improve the tendon healing.

Participants were allocated into one of two intervention groups (traditional immobilization or early mobilization).

Traditional immobilization group (45 days of plaster cast immobilization; after the immobilization period, subjects received instructions on how to perform a home-based exercise program)

Early mobilization (six weeks of physical therapy program; three times per week; one to two hours of exercises for regaining range of motion and muscular endurance)

Control group (subjects had no history of lower limb injury, and were matched in age and anthropometric measurements to subjects that performed physical rehabilitation and to subjects that remained immobilized.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male
• Achilles tendon rupture

Exclusion Criteria:

• arterial insufficiency
• diabetes
• autoimmune disease
• patients who used systemic antibiotics or steroids or showed any other clinical contraindication to perform maximum voluntary contractions on a dynamometer.