AWARENESS OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ALFREDSON ECCENTRIC EXERCISE PROTOCOL IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY

Abstract

Background

The incidence of Achilles tendinopathy in the general public is about six percent, twenty-four percent in athletes, and thirty-six percent in short-distance runners, and around fifty-two percent in long-distance runners. The ratio of ankle injuries is high in players who play basketball, tennis, and soccer. Around twenty-seven percent of musculoskeletal injuries are common in athletes.

Objective

To evaluate the awareness of implementation of the Alfredson eccentric exercise protocol in the management of Achilles tendinopathy

Methodology

The cross-sectional study was done through an online survey among the Physical Therapists of Pakistan. The estimated sample size calculated from the Raosoft.com software was 449 participants. The sampling technique used in this study was convenient. The data was collected through a questionnaire used in a previous study, and an assessment tool named: NRS ranging from 0 to 10. Statistical analysis was done through SPSS version 23.

Result

Out of 449 research participants between the ages of 22 and more than 50 years were evaluated through a validated questionnaire and assessment tool. The majority of physical therapists were working in OPD, i.e., 356 (79.28%). Therapists with more than 5 years of experience have 221 (49.22%) awareness regarding alfredson protocol. They observed that patients rated on a moderate level of the numeric rating scale, around 156 (34.74%), and the excellent level of satisfaction was found among 143 (31.84%) from the Alfredson protocol.

Conclusion

Our study concluded that the awareness and implementation of alfredson protocol was mostly found in physical therapists having more than five years of working experirnce.