Prevalence and impact of Patellar and Achilles tendinopathy in the Australian Football League

Little is known about the burden of patellar and achilles tendinopathy in Australian rules football, as this condition often leads to minimal time loss, and is thus understimated in injury reports.

This study aims to understand the morbidity of these two conditions by tracking it across a pre-season and at the completion of the season. It aims to determine how players pain and tendon health respond to the loads of Australian rules football, and whether any factors could be used to understand future injury. 10 clubs are involved, and undertook monthy OSTRC quesitonnaires, as well as monthly UTC (ultrasound tissue characterisation) scans in the preason and post season.

This study hopes to shed light on the high burden of tendon pain in this cohort, and indicate future directions for better treatment and prevention.

Staff members: Sean Docking, Ebonie Rio, John Orchard (University of Sydney), Lauren Fortington (Federation University), Jill Cook