Tendinopathy part 2 - assessment, diagnosis & red flags with Paul Kirwan

Do you remember the last patient you treated with lateral hip pain or Achilles’ tendon pain, from today, last week or last month. Did you nail your diagnosis? Did your patient have any pathology, inflammatory arthritis or red flags pretending to be tendon pain?

If your patient has inflammatory arthritis causing their tendon pain, they’re going to need a completely different treatment plan to your midportion tendinopathy patients if you want them to make any improvement. What are the key questions to help you identify red flags like inflammatory arthritis? In this webinar with Paul Kirwan, you will discover red flags you need to keep an eye out for, and an easy way to remember the questions you need to ask your tendon pain patients.

How can you differentiate Achilles tendinopathy from Plantaris involvement, sural nerve involvement, or Posterior ankle impingement? Paul will help you identify and differentially diagnose intratendinous tears, paratenonitis and tendinopathy of Tibialis posterior, FDL or FHL.

You will also identify whether corticosteroid injections, PRP or ESWT are helpful additions to your treatment.

In Part 1 you discovered why patients develop tendinopathy, common challenges you’ll face, how to individualise treatment, and how long it will take your patients to get better.

In the next part in this webinar series (Part 3), available next week, you will journey through tendinopathy treatment, and how to use eccentrics, isometrics, isotonics and plyometrics. You will discover how to structure your exercise program, decide on the best rehab approach and know which treatments you NEED to avoid.

Part 2A

• Should you use eccentric or concentric exercises in your tendinopathy treatment?
• How can you screen for pathology masquerading as tendon pain?
• Why is adolescence an important time for tendons?
• What questions do you need to ask in your history to get an accurate diagnosis and identify red flags?
• Inflammatory arthritis could be responsible for your patients tendon pain. How can you screen for inflammatory arthritis involvement?
• When and how can you use the TendonQ?
• What are your differential diagnoses (DDx) for Achilles Tendinopathy?
• How can you diagnose Tib post, Flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallicus longus tendinopathy?
• What tests can you use to identify posterior ankle impingement?
• How can you identify sural nerve involvement in your patients pain?

Part 2B

• How can you differentiate midportion Achilles tendinopathy from paratenon involvement?
• How can you identify intratendinous tears?
• What is a Fascia Cruris tear, and how can you identify patients with a Fascia Cruris tear?
• Why is Plantaris injured more commonly than we previously thought, and how can you identify it?
• How can you treat Achilles’ tendon patients with Plantaris involvement?
• How should you assess patients with Achilles’ tendon pain?
• Do corticosteroid injections really provide a “window of opportunity” for rehab?

Part 2C

• Should corticosteroid or PRP injections be used in tendinopathy?
• How does PRP compare to placebo injections or dry needling?
• Are there any detrimental effects of PRP on tendons?

Part 2D

• How does PRP compare to saline?
• Is there any high quality evidence for PRP in tendinopathy?
• Does extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) have a role in tendinopathy?
• ESWT compared to corticosteroid injection?
• Should you target the soleus or gastrocs in your Achilles tendinopathy rehab?