Return to Play After Soleus Muscle Injuries

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Orthopedic Surgery
• Muscle Injury Research

Background:

• Soleus muscle injuries are frequent in athletes, often leading to unpredictable recovery times and high reinjury rates.
• The specific location within the soleus muscle may significantly influence healing duration and prognosis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively evaluate recovery times for various soleus muscle injury sites in high-level athletes.
• To identify factors influencing soleus injury recovery, including injury location, age, and injury characteristics.

Main Methods:

• A prospective case series (Level 4 evidence) reviewed 61 high-level athletes with 44 soleus muscle injuries.
• Clinical and MRI evaluations assessed injury characteristics across five typical sites: anterior/posterior myofascial and lateral/central/medial aponeurosis.
• Recovery time was correlated with patient age, sport, edema, volume, cross-sectional area, and retraction extent.

Main Results:

• The median recovery time for all soleus injuries was 29.1 days.
• Central aponeurosis (MTC) injuries had the longest mean recovery time (44.3 days), while lateral aponeurosis (MTL) injuries had the shortest (19.2 days).
• Significant correlations were found between recovery time and athlete age (P < .001) and degree of retraction (P < .05).

Conclusions:

• Significant variability exists in soleus injury recovery times, impacting return to competitive sports.
• Injuries to the central aponeurosis demonstrate a worse prognosis with significantly longer recovery periods compared to lateral/medial aponeurosis and myofascial injuries.