Ankle and knee joint differences exist despite restoration of acceleration performance after Achilles tendon repair
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Updated: Oct 31, 2026
Reliability of A Vibration-Based Elastography Protocol For Assessing Achilles Tendon Stiffness Across Multiple Joint Angles In Elite Athletes
Published on: June 16, 2026
David McCrea1, Neil Welch2, Colin Griffin2
1University of Roehampton & UPMC Sports Surgery Clinic, Dublin, Ireland.
Objectives:
The aim was to determine whether AT repair influences acceleration performance, joint kinetics and kinematics compared to controls, and whether between-limb differences differ between the groups.
Design:
Cross Sectional Study.
Setting:
3D Biomechanics Laboratory.
Participants:
45 participants (23 post AT repair, 22 controls) completed 3 maximum effort reactive sprint accelerations on each leg.
Main Outcome Measures:
Spatiotemporal, Lower limb joint kinetic and kinematics.
Results:
Significant effects of group were observed for several biomechanical variables with the AT repair group demonstrating reduced peak negative ankle power (p < .001, ηp2 = 0.23), reduced ankle positive work (p = .009, ηp2 = 0.08), reduced ankle dorsiflexion range of motion (p = .04, ηp2 = 0.04), increased knee positive power (p = .04, ηp2 = 0.04), and reduced vertical average ground reaction force (p = .007, ηp2 = 0.08). Significant group × limb interactions were identified for ankle positive work (p = .025, ηp2 = 0.09). No significant effect of group or group × limb interaction was observed for time to complete the task.
Conclusions:
These effects indicate a reduced capacity to generate force specifically at the ankle joint post AT rupture suggesting that impairments remain despite a comparable global acceleration performance.
