Potential Risk of Rerupture in Primary Achilles Tendon Repair in Athletes Younger Than 30 Years of Age

Abstract

Background:Complete Achilles tendon ruptures are found more often in athletes who participate in sports involving explosive acceleration or maximal effort. In most studies, the consensus for athletes is surgery. This form of treatment has been shown to exhibit the best functional performance with a lower rerupture rate.

Hypothesis:Achilles tendon ruptures in a young population (<30 years) have a higher rerupture rate than similar injuries in an older age group (31-50 years), in which the injury is more common.

Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods:Retrospective study was carried out by chart review. Magnetic resonance images were obtained comparing appearance of repair in young and old patients at 8 to 12 weeks after operation.

Results:There were a total of 4 reruptures in the 89 Achilles tendon repairs. This was an overall rerupture rate of 4.5%, which was consistent with the literature. When the reruptures were critically analyzed, it was noted that the 4 reruptures of the repaired tendon occurred in a young population. Of the 89, there was a subgroup of athletes (n = 24) who were 30 years of age or younger at the time of injury. The incidence of rerupture for these individuals was 16.6%. In the remaining athletes (n = 65) older than 30 years, the incidence of rerupture was zero. There were no significant differences (P= .05) in all parameters measured (average days in a boot, average days to active range of motion, average time to full weight-bearing, average days to bike or use a stair climbing machine, average return to sports) between age groups except in the time from injury to surgery (7.1 days, for athletes = 30 years vs 2.65 days for athletes >31 years).

Conclusions:The results of Achilles tendon repair with an early weightbearing and an early range of motion rehabilitation program are good. However, caution may need to be taken in the younger athlete (= 30 years) during rehabilitation.

Clinical Relevance:Although the authors recommend aggressive rehabilitation for Achilles tendon repairs, caution should be observed in the younger athlete.