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ABSTRACT
This case series study aimed to investigate patients with insertional Achilles tendinopathy (IAT) who underwent radiofrequency (RF), how much do their patient-reported outcomes scores improve and what percentage return to sport, and what patient-related factors are associated with improved scores and increased odds of return to sport, at a minimum of 2-year follow-up. Between 2012 and 2018, 41 patients were followed up. The median Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles (VISA-A) score increased from 20 (range, 3–62) to 97 (range, 53–100), the median 11-point visual analogue scale (VAS) reduced from 8 (range, 1–10) to 0 (range, 0–3) and the median Tenger score increased from 1 (range, 0–1) to 3 (range, 2–8). Thirty-eight (92.7%) patients returned to sports with a mean time of 11 ± 4.8 months. In linear regression analysis, age was significantly associated with return-to-sports outcome (b = -0.07, 95% CI = -0.13 to -0.02, p = 0.02), while in logistic regression, symptoms duration revealed a significant impact on pain presence (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01 to 1.14, p = 0.02). In summary, RF for IAT had a 68.7 ± 14.5 VISA-A improvement at 5.4 years of follow-up regarding reliable functional restoration and pain reduction; however, the current evidence remains insufficient to support RF as an effective treatment for IAT.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Ethical review committee statement
Each author certifies that the institution waived approval for this research (KY2016–315), and this study has been performed in accordance with the ethical standards in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki.
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2022.2162402