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Abstract The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body and is affected by many diseases and is vulnerable to many forms of damage due to the heavy loads it must bear. Rupture of the Achilles tendon has become more common in recent times, with an almost four-fold increase in prevalence from 1979–1990 to 1991–2000 and a peak incidence of 19 ruptures per 100 000 of population in 1999 in our epidemiological assessment. The incidences of major complications, re-rupture and deep infection, increased along with primary ruptures, peaking in 1999. The results after successful primary repair are good in over 90% of cases, as we have shown in a randomized study and in a review of the literature, and the result after re-rupture is still good in about 70% of cases, but achieving good performance after deep infection is a highly random matter. Our retrospective survey did not identify any good results, but the deep infection cases in our randomized study showed good performance due to prompt action taken for their treatment. The best method for treating a ruptured Achilles tendon has been under debate for almost 100 years, with surgery and conservative methods advocated to equal extents. We have advocated surgical treatment as the primary choice and conservative treatment is given for selected high risk patients, for example patients with diabetes, skin problems, systemic use of corticosteroids or severe other illness. The type of surgery technique is not a straightforward choice, either, and various forms of open surgery and percutaneous techniques exist. We compared an end-to-end simple suture with the same suture augmented with one central gastrocnemius turn-over flap in a randomized series of 60 patients and found no differences with respect to subjective complaints, calf muscle strength or tendon elongation with time. The end-to-end technique is simpler and is therefore justified as the primary method of choice for the surgical repair of fresh complete Achilles tendon ruptures. The tissue composition has been shown to alter not only with time but also after repeated tearing of the tendon collagen fibres. A normal tendon is mainly composed of type I collagen, but the rupture areas express more type III collagen, which is thinner and withstands loads less effectively. Type III collagen accumulates slowly in the tendon, since its production does not increase very much, a situation that is indicative of microtrauma. Crosslinking of the fibres is important for collagen matrix properties, and we found that there is a change in the quality of crosslinking with age and that this may have role in the observed changes in tendon stiffness, as also noted in other studies. We also studied the appearance of tenascin-C at the rupture site in the Achilles tendon and at two other sites in the same tendon, but found no difference in its expression. It has been proposed that tenascin-C may take part in the tendon’s reaction to loading, but its exact function remains unknown.

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Rotator cuff pathologies involving supraspinatus are a common cause of musculoskeletal morbidity and can lead to significant disability affecting the overall quality of life. Architectural parameters of the muscle directly influence its functional properties. Therefore, understanding of fiber bundle changes with surgery and different exercises can assist clinicians in planning better surgical and shoulder rehabilitative protocols. The first objective of this thesis was to systematically review human cadaveric studies of the normal supraspinatus architecture and highlight the key aspects that should be considered while performing studies of skeletal muscle architecture. The second objective was to understand the impact of surgical repair on the structural and functional recovery of the supraspinatus. The final objective was to provide a scientific rationale behind choosing an exercise to strengthen supraspinatus by investigating its muscle architecture. Study 1 systematically reviewed human cadaveric studies of the normal supraspinatus architecture. Results showed that the overall quality of majority of included is poor and there was a large range in the reported architectural values of the entire muscle. In conclusion, there were only a few studies providing the level of detail and quality suitable for advancing our understanding of shoulder biomechanics. Study 2 quantified and compared the fiber bundle architecture of the pathologic supraspinatus pre- and post-operatively at multiple time points. Results showed significant lengthening of fiber bundles after one month of surgery which then decreased significantly by 6 months of surgery. In contrast, an initial decrease followed by an increase in pennation angle overtime was found. The results suggest that the stretching applied to the tendon and muscle during repair could affect the length-tension relationship of the muscle, which in turn can compromise its function and may lead to inferior surgical outcomes. Study 3 compared the efficacy of three commonly prescribed supraspinatus strengthening exercises in the rehabilitation setting based on the architectural changes following resistance training. Results showed there was no change in FBL and increased strength after resistance training with prone horizontal abduction exercise. Findings suggest that prone horizontal abduction may be a more suitable exercise to strengthen supraspinatus.

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