Treatment Strategies and Return-to-Sport Outcomes in High-Performance Athletes With Acute Achilles Tendon Rupture:...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Sports Medicine
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Acute Achilles tendon rupture (AATR) significantly impacts high-performance athletes' return to play (RTP).
• Optimal treatment strategies for AATR in elite and masters athletes require further clarification.
• Stratifying athletes by performance level (elite vs. masters) is crucial for understanding AATR outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare RTP outcomes between surgical and non-surgical treatments for AATR in elite and masters athletes.
• To investigate the impact of treatment on post-treatment physical activity intensity and Achilles tendon function.
• To identify factors influencing complete return to play (cRTP) after AATR.

Main Methods:

• Multicenter retrospective study of 64 athletes with AATR.
• Athletes categorized into elite (n=18) and masters (n=46) groups.
• Collected data on demographics, injury, treatment, RTP, modified Halasi score (mHS), and Achilles tendon total rupture score.

Main Results:

• In masters athletes, surgical treatment resulted in a significantly lower post-treatment mHS.
• No significant differences in cRTP rate or Achilles tendon total rupture score between treatment groups in either elite or masters.
• Prolonged immobilization negatively impacted cRTP in non-surgical masters athletes.

Conclusions:

• Surgical treatment may reduce post-treatment physical activity intensity in masters athletes.
• Prolonged immobilization is detrimental to cRTP in non-surgical masters athletes.
• Early functional mobilization is beneficial for both surgical and non-surgical AATR management in athletes.