Blood flow in the peritendinous space of the human Achilles tendon during exercise

This study evaluated blood flow in the peritendinous space of the human Achilles tendon during rest and 40-min dynamical contraction of m. triceps surae. In 10 healthy volunteers Xe-133 was injected in to the peritendinous space just ventrally to the Achilles tendon 2 and 5 cm proximal to the calcaneal insertion of the tendon, respectively. Blood flow 5 cm proximal to the Achilles tendon insertion was found to increase 4-fold from rest to exercise whereas the exercise induced increase in blood flow was less pronounced, only 2.5-fold, when measured 2 cm proximal to the Achilles tendon insertion. Lymph drainage from the area was found to be negligible both during rest and exercise. We conclude that dynamical calf muscle contractions result in increased peritendinous blood flow at the Achilles tendon in humans.