NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Age does not seem to play a role in the
development of Achilles tendon problems among older athletes, nor do training
and participation in walking, jumping, sprinting, running, or hurdling
competitions, findings from a European study suggest.
Achilles tendon pain results from swelling or tiny tears in the tendon that
connects the calf muscle to the heel bone. The exact cause of this "overuse"
injury, characterized by swelling or mild to severe pain when rising onto the
toes or pushing off when walking, is unknown.
The current study, reported in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, involved
110 men and 68 women who were highly trained, competitive track and field
athletes participating in the European Veterans Athletics Championships held in
Poland in July 2006.
Dr. Nicola Maffulli, of the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, UK, and
colleagues looked at age, gender, weight, height, as well as factors associated
with training and event type among the athletes, who were 54 years old on
average.
The investigators also compared reports of Achilles tendon pain among low-impact
athletes - those involved in walking and long-distance running - and high-impact
athletes participating in sprint and middle-distance running, hurdle, jumping,
and pole vault events.
Their findings showed no association between reports of Achilles tendon pain and
age, weight, height, or gender among the 85 athletes who reported pain and those
who did not.
Additionally, in this group of athletes, "high-impact events and training
profile seems not to be associated" with Achilles pain, Maffulli told Reuters
Health.
Maffulli's team calls for further investigations to identify what causes
Achilles tendon pain in older athletes.
SOURCE: The American Journal of Sports Medicine, July 2009.
