Tendinopathy: Treatment effects and mechanisms 1 (Tendinopathy TEAM 1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Tendinopathy treatment effects and mechanisms 1 (TEAM 1): A randomised clinical trial of eccentric loading, high volume injection and shock wave therapy for Achilles tendinopathy.
IRAS ID
155611
Contact name
Sally Burtles
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
QMUL and Bart's Health NHS trust
Eudract number
2015-000196-27
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 6 months, 3 days
Research summary
Tendinopathy is a common, painful, recurrent condition that affects both
active and sedentary individuals. We aim to discover how we can best treat
Achilles tendinopathy conservatively, as this is a common foot and ankle tendinopathy both in people who do sport and those who are sedentary. We will run a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of two promising novel treatment when added to best usual care. Best usual care is progressive exercise, of a particular nature termed 'eccentric loading'. The two novel treatments are: high volume injection, which introduces 40ml of saline AND 10ml local anaesthetic to the area between the tendon and Kager's fat pad (deep to the Achilles); and shock wave therapy - a form of ultrasound. Both of these treatments have been used widely for Achilles tendinopathy, typically if it fails to respond to initial rehabilitation. We are interested to see if better results can be achieved by introducing these treatments earlier in the care pathway. Further, we will evaluate the process of care delivery and measure costs. This new knowledge should help us treat existing problems better and learn how to generalise these findings across the NHS.REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/LO/1002
Date of REC Opinion
28 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion