The additional value of a night splint to eccentric exercises in chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial

Aim: To assess whether the use of a night splint is of added benefit on functional outcome in treating chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy. Methods: This was a single-blind, prospective, single centre, randomised controlled trial set in the Sports Medical Department, The Hague Medical Centre, T...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	British journal of sports medicine Vol. 41; no. 7; p. e5
Main Authors:	de Vos, R J, Weir, A, Visser, R J A, de Winter, ThC, Tol, J L
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine 01-07-2007 BMJ Publishing Group LTD BMJ Publishing Group BMJ Group
Subjects:	Achilles Tendon - injuries Adolescent Adult Aged Athletic Injuries - therapy Chronic Disease Clinical trials Compliance Exercise Exercise Therapy - methods Female Humans Inflammatory diseases Male Medical treatment Middle Aged Netherlands Original Pain Patient Compliance Patient Satisfaction Prospective Studies Questionnaires Researchers Single-Blind Method Splints Sports medicine Studies Tendinopathy - therapy Tendons Treatment Outcome Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment–Achilles questionnaire VISA-A Netherlands
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Aim: To assess whether the use of a night splint is of added benefit on functional outcome in treating chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy. Methods: This was a single-blind, prospective, single centre, randomised controlled trial set in the Sports Medical Department, The Hague Medical Centre, The Netherlands. Inclusion criteria were: age 18–70 years, active participation in sports, and tendon pain localised at 2–7 cm from distal insertion. Exclusion criteria were: insertional disorders, partial or complete ruptures, or systemic illness. 70 tendons were included and randomised into one of two treatment groups: eccentric exercises with a night splint (night splint group, n = 36) or eccentric exercises only (eccentric group, n = 34). Interventions: Both groups completed a 12-week heavy-load eccentric training programme. One group received a night splint in addition to eccentric exercises. At baseline and follow-up at 12 weeks, patient satisfaction, Victorian Institute of Sport Assessment–Achilles questionnaire (VISA-A) score and reported compliance were recorded by a single-blind trained researcher who was blinded to the treatment. Results: After 12 weeks, patient satisfaction in the eccentric group was 63% compared with 48% in the night splint group. The VISA-A score significantly improved in both groups; in the eccentric group from 50.1 to 68.8 (p = 0.001) and in the night splint group from 49.4 to 67.0 (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in VISA-A score (p = 0.815) and patient satisfaction (p = 0.261). Conclusion: A night splint is not beneficial in addition to eccentric exercises in the treatment of chronic midportion Achilles tendinopathy.
Bibliography:	PMID:17178774 ark:/67375/NVC-61KQQ960-M local:041e005 Correspondence to:  Dr J L Tol  The Hague Medical Centre, Antoniushove, PO Box 411, Burgemeester Banninglaan 1, 2260 AK Leidschendam, The Netherlands; h.tol@mchaaglanden.nl href:bjsports-41-e5.pdf istex:D1CAEB1BC275C78A0DFD2968D2EC4015E125BF85 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-News-1 ObjectType-Feature-3
ISSN:	0306-3674 1473-0480
DOI:	10.1136/bjsm.2006.032532