Understanding the role of altered tendon properties on tendon strains during recovery from Achilles tendinopathy.

Mechanical and morphological properties are altered in Achilles tendinopathy. The literature on the rehabilitation of tendinopathy suggests that the most important treatment is appropriate loading. There are indications that non-uniform deformation of the Achilles which has been observed in healthy tendons could reduce stresses on the tendon. Exercises need to deliver the appropriate mechanical trigger to stimulate restoring normal tendon properties. It is therefore crucial that exercises are adequately tuned to account for these altered properties in order to design a rehabilitation protocol that delivers the optimal stimulus for tendon regeneration and avoids overloading the tendon. This project aims to develop and validate a workflow that will allow non-invasive characterization of the functional status of the tendon in terms of its global and local material properties and based on these allow to select rehabilitation exercises that will deliver the optimal strain distribution in the tendon to optimize the regenerative process.