Participant characteristics at baseline
| Heel lifts group (n=50) | Eccentric exercise group (n=50) | |
| Demographics and anthropometrics | ||
| Age, years | 46.1 (9.0) | 45.6 (9.8) |
| Female* | 26 (52) | 26 (52) |
| Height, cm | 171.9 (9.1) | 172.6 (10.7) |
| Weight, kg | 85.6 (17.7) | 89.9 (22.0) |
| Body mass index, kg/m²† | 28.0 (24.3 to 31.8) | 28.8 (26.3 to 31.1) |
| Waist to hip ratio | 0.9 (0.1) | 0.9 (0.1) |
| FPI score† | 3 (2 to 4) | 3 (0 to 4) |
| Supinated (FPI −12 to 0)* | 10 (20) | 15 (30) |
| Normal (FPI 1 to 7)* | 40 (80) | 34 (68) |
| Pronated (FPI 8 to 12)* | 0 (0) | 1 (2) |
| Ankle joint dorsiflexion range of motion, degrees‡ | 38.5 (6.5) | 39.1 (7.8) |
| Self-reported education* | ||
| Primary school completed | 1 (2) | 3 (6) |
| High school (or equivalent) completed | 14 (28) | 7 (14) |
| Vocational training | 11 (22) | 12 (24) |
| College/university completed | 15 (30) | 15 (30) |
| Postgraduate degree completed | 9 (18) | 12 (24) |
| Don’t know | 0 (0) | 1 (2) |
| Self-reported medical conditions* | ||
| Asthma | 4 (8) | 0 (0) |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 0 (0) | 2 (4) |
| Hypertension | 10 (20) | 8 (16) |
| Leg cramps | 10 (20) | 4 (8) |
| Osteoarthritis | 4 (8) | 6 (12) |
| Hands | 1 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Knee | 3 (6) | 5 (10) |
| Feet | 2 (4) | 0 (0) |
| Other | 4 (8) | 9 (18) |
| Self-reported medications* | ||
| Uses at least 1 medication | 20 (40) | 28 (56) |
| Physical activity | ||
| Partakes in physical activity* | 43 (86) | 41 (82) |
| Average hours of physical activity† per week, hours† | 4.5 (1.9 to 7.7) | 5.1 (0.9 to 8.2) |
| Footwear | ||
| Women’s shoe size, USA† | 8.0 (7.5 to 9.0) | 8.0 (8.0 to 10.0) |
| Men’s shoe size, USA† | 10.0 (9.0 to 11.0) | 10.5 (10.0 to 11.0) |
| Athletic shoe worn most frequently* | 20 (40) | 21 (42) |
| Rearfoot height, mm† | 31.6 (26.0 to 37.0) | 33.1 (26.8 to 36.9) |
| Forefoot height, mm† | 19.1 (13.0 to 23.4) | 20.6 (12.9 to 24.1) |
| Pitch, mm† | 12.3 (8.4 to 15.8) | 12.5 (9.7 to 16.7) |
| Current use of foot orthoses* | 6 (12) | 12 (24) |
| Current use of ankle brace* | 1 (2) | 1 (2) |
| Achilles tendinopathy characteristics | ||
| Left/right/bilateral* | 11 (22)/14 (28)/25 (50) | 10 (20)/7 (14)/33 (66) |
| Duration of symptoms, months† | 18.0 (6.0 to 36.0) | 22.5 (8.0 to 36.0) |
| Outcome measures | ||
| VISA-A | 57.0 (15.4) | 53.3 (17.1) |
| Achilles tendon AP diameter, mm | 8.61 (1.88) | 9.83 (2.12) |
| Achilles tendon integrity: AFS, % | 76.3 (17.6) | 71.7 (19.6) |
| Achilles tendon integrity: DIS, % | 23.7 (17.6) | 28.3 (19.6) |
| Severity of pain (VAS), mm | 56.1 (24.6) | 60.1 (21.9) |
| EQ-5D-5L, Index | 0.76 (0.11) | 0.73 (0.11) |
| EQ-5D-5L, VAS | 76.1 (12.7) | 77.4 (15.4) |
| Self-reported Physical Activity Recall (PAR), kilocalories per day† | 3493 (2916 to 4118) | 3688 (3197 to 4497) |
| Calf muscle function, repetitions | 18.9 (10.6) | 17.9 (11.0) |
| Preferred treatment* | ||
| Preferred HL/EE/impartial | 19 (38)/26 (52)/5 (10) | 12 (24)/32 (64)/6 (12) |
| Received preferred intervention | 19 (38) | 32 (64) |
EQ-5D-5L, EuroQol 5 dimension 5 level questionnaire was expressed for both of its components, the index value (scores range from <0 (worse than dead) to 0 (dead) to 1 (full health)) and the VAS value (scores range from 0 (worst imaginable health state) to 100 (best imaginable health state)). PAR questionnaire. Values are mean (SD) unless otherwise noted.
*n (%).
†Median (IQR), where IQR is expressed as Q1–Q3 (non-normally distributed data).
‡Measured using the weightbearing lunge technique. Details of the measurements can be found in the study protocol.21
AFS, aligned fibrillar structure; AP, anterior–posterior; DIS, disorganised structure; EE, eccentric exercise; FPI, Foot Posture Index; HL, heel lifts; VAS, Visual Analogue Scale; VISA-A, Victorian Institute of Sports Assessment-Achilles.