Whether to opt for exercise treatment, new ‘biological therapies’ like platelet-rich plasma (PRP), or surgery is a clinical challenge. Sweden’s Professor Håkan Alfredson has unique experience in considering these options for patients with Achilles pain. He has 15 years experience as an international leader in sports and exercise medicine.

In this podcast, he tells BJSM’s editor Karim Khan how to manage both straightforward (0.37) and complicated (7.34) Achilles tendinopathy. He shares novel insights into the contribution of the aberrant plantaris tendon to chronic medial leg pain (12.40).

Prof Alfredson also provides a memorable clinical story to underscore the effectiveness of heavy loading eccentric training in one particularly stubborn patient (3.49). He argues against the use of PRP (17.37) and considers cortisone to be a short-term fix but long-term liability (15.24). The podcast concludes with discussion of both jumper’s knee (19.35) and lateral elbow tendinopathy (24.44).

Related paper:
Midportion Achilles tendinosis and the plantaris tendon

Related podcasts:
Robert Jan de Vos and Adam Weir on platelet rich plasma injections
Professor Jill Cook on managing tendinopathies in 2011