Ready Lauren V, Li Neill Y, Worobey Samantha, Lemme Nicholas J, Yang Daniel S, Yang JaeWon, Krill Michael, Owens Brett D
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Dec 6;9(12):23259671211056083. doi: 10.1177/23259671211056083. eCollection 2021 Dec.
A ruptured Achilles tendon (AT) can sideline a player for 6 to 12 months and reduce their power rankings by more than 50%. Previous research has compared AT rupture rates in different game conditions.
To determine environmental and physiological risk factors for AT tears, given the minimal amount of research on AT ruptures in the National Football League (NFL).
Case series; Level of evidence, 4.
NFL players with a diagnosed AT tear between 2009 and 2016 were selected as the study population for this retrospective analysis. Data on NFL injury were collected from an established database composed of publicly available information. Player profiles were employed to determine position, team, and game statistics at the time of injury. The proportion of NFL rookies was approximated by summing the number of draft picks and the number of signed, undrafted free agents and measured against the number of roster spots before the season.
Between 2009 and 2016, there were 101 documented AT tears. Of these, 64% (65/101) occurred before the official season, including preseason games. Of the 36 tears that occurred in-season, 34 were during games. Overall, 29% (19/65) of the preseason tears occurred in rookies and 100% (36/36) of the in-season tears affected nonrookies. Of the rookies with AT ruptures, 42.11% returned to play in the NFL, while 62.20% of the nonrookies came back to partake in future seasons. Despite an average age of 26.7 years, the tear distribution was bimodal with players aged 24 and 36 years exhibiting the highest rates of tear.
In our review of AT tears in NFL athletes, a large percentage of the tears occurred in rookie players, especially during the preseason. We also found that tears during the season occurred in only nonrookies, suggesting that the preseason is when rookies experience the greatest risk for injury.
跟腱断裂会使运动员休战6至12个月，并使其实力排名下降超过50%。此前的研究比较了不同比赛条件下的跟腱断裂率。
鉴于美国国家橄榄球联盟（NFL）中关于跟腱断裂的研究极少，确定跟腱撕裂的环境和生理风险因素。
病例系列；证据等级，4级。
选取2009年至2016年间被诊断为跟腱撕裂的NFL球员作为本回顾性分析的研究对象。NFL伤病数据从一个由公开信息组成的既定数据库中收集。利用球员资料确定受伤时的位置、球队和比赛数据。NFL新秀的比例通过将选秀球员数量与签约的未被选中的自由球员数量相加来估算，并与赛季前的球员名单名额数量进行对比。
2009年至2016年间，有101例有记录的跟腱撕裂。其中，64%（65/101）发生在正式赛季之前，包括季前赛。在赛季中发生的36例撕裂中，有34例发生在比赛期间。总体而言，季前赛撕裂中有29%（19/65）发生在新秀身上，而赛季中撕裂的100%（36/36）影响的是非新秀。在跟腱断裂的新秀中，42.11%的人重返NFL赛场，而在非新秀中，62.20%的人回归参加后续赛季。尽管平均年龄为26.7岁，但撕裂分布呈双峰模式，24岁和36岁的球员撕裂率最高。
在我们对NFL运动员跟腱撕裂的回顾中，很大一部分撕裂发生在新秀球员身上，尤其是在季前赛期间。我们还发现赛季中的撕裂仅发生在非新秀身上，这表明季前赛是新秀受伤风险最大的时期。
