Efficacy of eccentric exercise in lower limb tendinopathies in athletes
original abstract†Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Tendinopathies are among the most frequent sport injuries, therefore their correct treatment is a crucial issue in sports medicine practice. In most of the cases, these multifactorial conditions are related to overuse and characterized by activity-induced pain, local tenderness and swelling. Although tendinopathies are common, their treatment is not easy. Currently, it is generally accepted that their management should include early functional exercises. Eccentric exercise (EE) is considered a fundamental therapeutic resource, especially for the treatment of Achilles and patellar tendinopathies. This article focuses on the use of EE for the treatment and prevention of the lower limb tendinopathies, evaluates the existing programs and their efficacy, and reviews the possible mechanisms of the healing process and the action of EE on tendon structure. EE-based treatments are useful to improve symptoms and function in lower limb tendinopathies, but more evidence is still required to devise an adequate dose-response model and to determine their long-term effects.
related content
- “Acute hamstring injuries in Swedish elite football: a prospective randomised controlled clinical trial comparing two rehabilitation protocols,” Carl M Askling, Magnus Tengvar, and Alf Thorstensson, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2013.
- “Acute hamstring injuries in Swedish elite sprinters and jumpers: a prospective randomised controlled clinical trial comparing two rehabilitation protocols,” Carl M Askling, Magnus Tengvar, Olga Tarassova, and Alf Thorstensson, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014.
- “Do structural changes (eg, collagen/matrix) explain the response to therapeutic exercises in tendinopathy: a systematic review,” Benjamin T Drew, Toby O Smith, Chris Littlewood, and Ben Sturrock, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014.
- “Eccentric exercises; why do they work, what are the problems and how can we improve them?,” J D Rees, R L Wolman, and A Wilson, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2009.
These two articles on PainScience.com cite Frizziero 2016 as a source:
- PS Eccentric Contraction — A weird bit of muscle physiology
- PS Achilles Tendinitis Treatment Science — Evidence-based guidelines for recovering as fast as possible
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