Achilles tendonopathy

Last evidence check May 2014.

Principal authors: Jim Barrie, Rebecca Hope and Marie Wilson

new nomenclature around Achilles insertion zones

The painful Achilles tendon is a common presentation in orthopaedic and sports medicine clinics. Traditionally described as "Achilles tendonitis" it is now recognised that the inflammatory process is absent in most patients, and that this is a degenerative and overuse condition with attempted repair.

Maffuli (1999) recommended the term “Achilles tendonopathy” to describe the clinical syndrome of pain, swelling and impaired performance in the Achilles tendon, reserving “tendinosis” for histopathological findings. Tendonopathy and tendinosis do not always co-exist. A further revision of terminology was recommended by van Dijk (2011):

van Dijk recommended discontinuation of the term "Haglund's deformity". The diagram above shows where this is traditionally applied for reference.

While there may be some further modification to this nomenclature, it seems rational and will be adopted by the Hyperbook