Today, we are addressing the question, "What risk factors are associated with Achilles Tendinopathy?" The Achilles tendon is vital to our performance as runners as over 50% of the push-off from the ground comes from the energy production of the elastic properties of the Achilles. To help us address this question we will take a quick look at a systematic review which looks at a number of different studies and tries to pull out the main themes to make sense of the data as a group of studies.
The study concluded that there are 5 factors that directly correlate with Achilles Tendinopathy. The four protective factors were: high peak vertical ground force, high arches, stiffer training surfaces, and high propulsive forces. The one negative risk factor was higher braking forces. Included in the video are some other factors that were linked with having Achilles tendinopathy, but did not have enough statistical power to be directly linked. The authors of the study conclude that since Achilles Tendinopathy is a multi-factorial disease it is important to try to reduce the amount of risk factors to help preserve the health of the Achilles tendon.