Does shockwave therapy lead to better pain and function than sham over 12 weeks in people with insertional Achilles tendinopathy? A randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To investigate the efficacy of adding radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy or sham to exercise for people with insertional Achilles tendinopathy.

Design

A two-armed, parallel-group, explanatory, single-centre, randomised controlled trial within a superiority framework.

Setting

Private clinic.

Participants

People diagnosed with insertional Achilles tendinopathy who were over 18 years old with a symptom duration of greater than 3 months.

Intervention

A total of 76 people were randomly assigned (one-to-one ratio) to receive three sessions of radial extracorporeal shockwave therapy or sham to the affected side (or most affected side if bilateral). All participants received identical education and exercise.

Outcome measures

The primary ou

SUBMITTER: Alsulaimani B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11846266 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature