Standardized intermittent static exercise increases peritendinous blood flow in human leg

Alteration in tendinous and peritendinous blood flow during and after exercise is suggested to contribute to the development of Achilles tendon injury and inflammation. In the present study a method for evaluating the influence of standardized workload on peritendinous flow is presented. The radioactive isotope xenon-133 was injected just ventrally to the Achilles tendon 5 cm proximal to the tendon's insertion on the calcaneous. The disappearance of 133Xe was used to determine blood flow during intermittent static exercise of the calf muscle (1.5 s exercise/1.5 s rest) for 30 min at a workload equivalent to individual body weight (1 BW) in six healthy volunteers around both Achilles tendons (n = 12). During intermittent static exercise, blood flow was increased from 1.8 +/- 0.3 ml 100 g tissue-1 min-1 (mean value and SEM) (rest) to 6.1 +/- 1.3 ml 100 g tissue-1 min-1 (exercise) (P <0.05). The exercise induced an average increase in blood flow (3.4-fold) equivalent to results previously obtained during regular dynamic heel raises (P > 0.05). It is concluded that the method is well suited to study the influence of standardized workload on the physiology and pathophysiology of the tissue around the Achilles tendon in humans.