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Calf muscle atrophy and Achilles tendon healing following experimental tendon division and surgery in rats
Author(s) -
Rantanen J.,
Hurme T.,
Kalimo H.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of medicine and science in sports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.575
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1600-0838
pISSN - 0905-7188
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0838.1999.tb00208.x
Subject(s) - achilles tendon , tendon , medicine , muscle atrophy , atrophy , soleus muscle , surgery , gastrocnemius muscle , anatomy , hindlimb , achilles tendon rupture , skeletal muscle , pathology
We used a rat model to study the effects of immobilization of the calf muscle‐tendon complex after an experimental Achilles tendon repair. Immobilizations of the complex in either a relaxed or tensioned position were compared by histochemical and morphometric analyses at the site of the tendon injury as well as in the gastrocnemius and soleus muscle bellies. The type of immobilization did not affect the healing of the tendon injury because no reruptures occurred in either of the treatment groups and the average tendon end‐to‐end distance did not differ between the groups. However, immobilization in a relaxed position led to a significantly more extensive fiber atrophy in the calf muscles. In clinical practice, these results suggest that rehabilitation after Achilles tendon surgery can be early and gradually tension‐ and load‐increasing without a significant increase in the risk of rerupture of the tendon.