Poster 65 Correlates of Achilles’ tendon pain in runners1 1Disclosure: None.

Objective: To investigate the frequency of symptoms and symptom correlates of achillodynia in recreational runners. Design: Quantitative correlation study. Setting: Subjects were recruited at a “runners room” in Ontario. Participants: 87 women and men with a history of “recreational running,” which was defined as running at least 3 times/wk, ≥5km/wk. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Data were collected immediately after runs of 10km or 20km. Subjects underwent a physical examination of the Achilles’ tendon bilaterally involving measures of pain on palpation of the tendon at 5 points with a pressure of 4kg/cm, calf girth, and pain on plantarflexion. Measures of exercise history were obtained from questionnaires. Comparisons were made between symptomatic and nonsymptomatic subjects. The chi-square statistic was used to analyze proportions. The t test was used to compare means. Results: Of the 87 runners, 25 had pain on examination in at least 1 of 5 tendon locations in either leg. Symptomatic subjects did not differ from nonsymptomatic subjects with respect to differences between left and right calf diameter or the frequency of palpable nodules. The symptomatic subjects were older (P<.05), heavier (P<.05), and shorter (P<.05) than the pain-free group. There were no group differences in years of running, number of organized runs in the past year, kilometers run per week, use of weight training, or running regimens. Conclusions: Achilles’ pain in runners was associated with shorter stature, heavier body weight, and older age but not with the amount of running. Achillodynia in runners is a useful model for studying repetitive trauma injury.