Background: The association between chronic Achilles Tendinopathy (AT) and altered gait has been demonstrated in a number of studies. However, there have been no reported studies on gait changes in the early stages of tendinopathy (<3 months).
Objective: To establish the effects of early-stage AT on the temporo-spatial, kinetics and kinematic characteristics of gait.
Materials and methods: Thirteen runners with AT (male/female: 8/5; age: 44.4 ± 4.6) and 15 apparently healthy runners (male/female: 8/7, age: 42.4 ± 9.9) were included in the study. All participants completed 10 trials of 5 m walking and 10 trials of 20 m running at a self-selected speed wearing their usual running shoes to obtain motion analysis and joint moment data.
Results: There were no significant differences within temporo-spatial parameters (walking or running) between the tendinopathy and control groups. The tendinopathy group showed significantly increased knee angles during stance (walking: p=0.005; running: p=0.006) and toe off (walking: p=0.033; running: p=0.021). Significant differences in knee moments during stance were also found between the two groups for both walking (p=0.011) and running (p=0.032).
Discussion and conclusion: Some differences in gait parameters are noted in early AT. Therefore, clinicians should monitor gait in early tendinopathy as part of rehabilitation to prevent the development of potential pathological gait biomechanics in the long term.
