ULTRASONOGRAPHIC MEASUREMENTS OF THE ACHILLES-TENDON IN ELDERLY ATHLETES AND SEDENTARY MEN

Ultrasonography was performed on the Achilles tendon of the dominant l imb of 18 male elderly athletes and 11 sedentary men, aged 70 to 80 ye ars. The tendons were examined with a real-time linear array scanner u sing a 7.5 MHz transducer. Both longitudinal and transverse images wer e taken. The mean width of the Achilles tendon was significantly large r in the athletes than in the control subjects. The tendon thickness a nd cross-sectional area did not differ significantly between the group s, but the figures may indicate a tendency for larger cross-sectional area in the athletes. The results suggest tendon hypertrophy following long-term training.