A study to evaluate an injection to improve Achilles tendon pain

Disease - Tendonitis

Lead applicant - Dr Rebecca Kearney

Organisation - University of Warwick

Type of grant - Clinical Studies

Status of grant - Active

Amount of the original award - £484,805.10

Start date - 1 September 2015

Reference - 20831

Public Summary

What are the aims of this research?

Many treatments exist for pain in the Achilles tendon of the heel, but there is no single best treatment. A new treatment has been developed which involves taking a sample of the patient's own blood and injecting part of the sample into the painful tendon. The aim of this research is to test whether this treatment is effective.

Why is this research important?

The national advisory body to the NHS (NICE) have stated that this new injection is safe, but there is no definite evidence that is works. At the moment some patients in some hospitals are offered the injections but in other areas they are not available. The results of this study will provide good evidence to help decide if this injection should or should not be routinely available to all patients with Achilles tendon pain.

During this study, patients with Achilles pain will receive either the treatment injection or a placebo which consists of a needle inserted under the heel skin through which nothing is injected. The patients will not know which group they are in, to allow a fair comparison. All patients will complete questionnaires about pain, ability to perform activities and any complications. This will allow an assessment the effectiveness of the injection compared to the placebo, which would not be expected to have any beneficial effect.

How will the findings benefit patients?

This study will provide the national advisory body with good evidence to decide if this injection treatment should or should not be routinely available to all patients with Achilles tendon pain.