January 15, 2010, Newsletter Issue #127: Plasma Injections Not Helpful for Injured Achilles Tendons

Tip of the Week

Some news from the world of sports medicine--a new study in the Journal of the American Medicine Association suggests that a relatively new technique of injecting plasma into an injured Achilles tendon had no more effect than a placebo injection of saline solution on patients' reports of pain and activity levels.


The study included 54 patients aged 18 to 70 years. That's not a huge amount but it's enough to take notice, and enough for the study researchers to NOT recommend the injections.


Patients in both the test and placebo groups also underwent standard Achilles tendon care involving regular stretching exericses, and after 24 weeks, patients in both groups showed significant improvements in pain and activity levels compared with how they were at the start of the study.


To me, this study shows the power of the placebo effect--if you think you are getting something extra that might help, you feel better. Also, as hard as it is, just the passage of 24 weeks of time and some smart stretching is likely to improve most injuries, as long as you aren't doing anything to make them worse. For the complete news release about the study, click here, http://bit.ly/7blDYd


Then check out some of my tips on stretching and exercises to help keep you running injury-free.


Happy Running!



 

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