Achilles Tendinopathy.

Does Plantaris have any role in Achilles tendinopathy?

Achilles tendinopathy is a debilitating condition found in both athletes and the general population.  Plantaris is a small tendon situated next to the Achilles. Sometimes, at surgery, it is found to be abnormal.

We don’t know if the plantaris tendon is involved in causing the pain of Achilles tendinopathy.  So, we are analysing scans and doing questionnaires to try to tease this out.

This research is being done by Dr Sachin Khullar and Dr Leesa Huguenin, in conjunction with Dr Peter Malliaris and Dr David Connell (Imaging at Olympic Park).

We have ethics approval form Latrobe University and will keep you informed as to our findings. If plantaris is part of the problem, we are hoping to follow with further research to improve treatment outcomes.