The highest rates occurred in 2008 in men and 2007 in women, and since then the decrease has been 42% in men and 55% in women.
This is quite amazing, since the reduction in surgical treatment happened in just three (2008-2011) years for men, and in just four years (2007-2011) for women.
It should also be noted that the increases in surgeries from the 1987 through 2007/2008 mentioned in the study are probably due to increasing activity of the elderly as well as an overall increase in the older population due to higher life expectancies. This phenomenon of an increasingly older (and active) population is true in most developed countries.
I always find it amazing how a majority of people in the US who rupture their achilles tendons are treated surgically, while the reverse is true in Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand and probably many other countries.
Precise percentages and estimates are not readily available for most countries, so it is always great when someone releases them.
In October 2014, a great study was published by Swedish researchers that summarized the experiences of treating 27,702 patients who suffered an achilles tendon rupture in Sweden between 2001 and 2012. The key finding was that:
The proportion of surgically treated patients declined from 43% in 2001 to 28% in 2012 in men and from 34% in 2001 to 22% in 2012 in women.
Essentially, this means that as of 2012, 3 out of 4 Swedes who ruptured their achilles tendon were treated non-surgically.
A lot of people who suffer from achilles tendon ruptures also have pre-existing tendinosis. Although I never had any pain prior to my achilles tendon rupture in 2013, my achilles tendon MRI images showed some pre-existing tendinosis according to the radiologist who analyzed them.
I have therefore been curious about a Canadian company called Replicel, which in its own words “is a regenerative medicine company focused on developing autologous cell therapies that address diseases caused by a deficit of healthy cells required for normal healing and function.”
The company is involved in several areas of regenerative medicine, including hair regeneration, skin rejuvenation and tendon repair. Its tendon repair product is known as RCT-01.
On December 1st 2014, Replicel received Health Canada phase 1/2 clearance to commence clinical trials of RCT-01 in patients with chronic achilles tendinosis.
Below is a video from Replicel about its RCT-01 product and achilles tendinosis:
