Characteristics of patients seeking national health service (NHS) care for Achilles tendinopathy: A service evaluation of 573 patients

Background

Achilles tendinopathy is a common condition that is often still symptomatic 10 years after onset. Much of the available research has focussed on active populations, however our experience is patients seeking care in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) may be different.

Objectives

To determine the characteristics of patients receiving NHS care for Achilles tendinopathy (AT).

To describe the utilisation of resources and the effectiveness of AT management in the NHS.

Methods

A data extraction tool was developed and used to retrospectively extract the characteristics of 573 patients diagnosed with Achilles tendinopathy.

Results

NHS Achilles tendinopathy patients averaged 57 years old, had a Body Mass Index of 31, and 69% had at least one other long-term health condition. These included musculoskeletal complaints (59%), hypertension (30%), Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or asthma (17%), cardiovascular disease (13%) and diabetes (13%). Subsequently medication usage was higher than the general population and included drugs that have been linked to the pathogenesis of tendinopathy. On average, healthcare providers conducted 3.8 therapy sessions and 26% of patients had radiological investigations. Outcome measures were commonly absent with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores documented in 51% of records, and patient-reported outcome measures like VISA-A only appearing in 3% of cases. Reports on psychosocial factors were seldom documented.

Conclusion

Individuals diagnosed with Achilles tendinopathy through NHS services exhibit distinct characteristics that diverge considerably from those currently represented in the published research used to develop clinical guidelines. NHS Achilles tendinopathy patients have multiple long-term health conditions and higher medication usage.