Could recreational soccer players recover single-leg heel raise performance 12-weeks after Achilles tenorrhaphy through immediate rehabilitation?

BACKGROUND: Immediate rehabilitation is increasingly used for tendon injuries, but complete single-leg heel raise recovery after injury remains uncommon. PURPOSE: This study primarily determined if immediate versus traditional rehabilitation resulted in better single-leg heel raise recovery against the physiological reference, and compared performance recovery against the non-injured limb. The study also explored if clinical parameters at 4, 8, and 12 weeks post-tenorrhaphy are predictors of more single-leg heel raises at week 12 in recreational soccer players. METHOD: Twenty-six amateur soccer players (43.2±10.1 years-old, BMI 29.5±3.9 kg/m ² ) underwent rehabilitation using early or traditional rehabilitation following Dresden tenorrhaphy of the Achilles tendon. The main outcome was the single-leg heel raise repetitions. RESULTS: Immediate rehabilitation resulted in significantly more single-leg heel raises than traditional rehabilitation (p < 0.001). Performance capacity compared to the physiological reference was significantly greater for immediate rehabilitation (p < 0.001) but significantly lower for traditional rehabilitation (p < 0.001). Only immediate rehabilitation recovered single-leg heel raise capacity as compared to the non-injured limb (p = 0.217). The beta coefficients for weight and dorsiflexion range of motion at week 12 were respectively -0.81±0.25 and 1.86±0.61. CONCLUSIONS: Immediate AT tenorrhaphy rehabilitation more quickly recovers reference values and approximates noninjured- limb values for single-leg heel raise capacity after a 12-week physical therapy program. Dorsiflexion range of motion at week 12 and weight were predictors for more single-leg heel raise repetitions at week 12.