Achilles Tendon Pain Severely Impairs Function in PsA

Key clinical point: Patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who did vs did not have Achilles tendon (AT) pain reported severe functional impairment and disability.

Major finding: Patients with PsA with vs without AT pain had significantly greater AT-related morning stiffness (90.9% vs 9.1%; P < .001), impaired AT function (median heel raise repetition rate 0.72 vs 1.24; P = .005), worse Psoriatic Arthritis Impact of Disease questionnaire score (mean 5.52 vs 3.38; P = .018), and pain on passive dorsiflexion (36.4% vs 0%; P = .011) and resisted plantarflexion (45.5% vs 0%; P = .003).

Study details: This cross-sectional, observational study included 22 patients with PsA with (n = 11) and without (n = 11) self-reported AT pain and 11 healthy individuals without PsA or AT pain.

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Disclosures: This study was funded by a Glasgow (UK) Caledonian University-funded PhD studentship. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Source: Patience A, Steultjens M, Siebert S, Hendry G. Significant functional impairment and disability in individuals with psoriatic arthritis and Achilles tendon pain: A cross-sectional observational study. Rheumatol Int. 2024;44:1469-1479 (June 8). Doi: 10.1007/s00296-024-05629-x Source