Achilles Tendon Palpation Test

Summary

What it measures:

Used to determine the presence or absence of Achilles tendinopathy

Target Population:

People with Achilles tendinopathy

When 3 tests are combined (Achilles Tendon Palpation test, Arc Sign, and the Royal London Hospital Test), the overall sensitivity was 0.586 (confidence interval [CI]=0.469-0.741), and the overall specificity was 0.833 (CI=0.758-0.889). In patients with tendinopathy of the Achilles tendon with a tender area of intratendinous swelling that moves with the tendon and whose tenderness significantly decreases or disappears when the tendon is put under tension, a clinical diagnosis of tendinopathy can be formulated, with a high positive predictive chance that the tendon will show ultrasonographic and histologic features of tendinopathy.2

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