The treatment of acute calcaneus tendon injuries remains controversial. Intending to establish updated guidelines for treating those injuries, a literature review was conducted. Among the papers assessed, 1342 injuries were studied, with conservative treatment being applied in 354 injuries and the surgical treatment in 988. Sural-podal immobilization was most frequently used, regardless of the kind of treatment. No surgical technique was prevalent when this kind of intervention was employed. The following were concluded: Currently, there is no preferred treatment method described in literature, either conservative or surgical, where a consensus is seen among authors, which could be applied to all patients with acute calcaneus tendon injuries. Competition athletes must preferably be treated with surgical repair of the tendon. Conservative treatment is preferable in sedentary or elderly patients, and in those suffering from diseases that may increase surgical risk. Surgical treatment, followed by early ankle mobilization, has presented good outcomes on functional tendon recovery. Immobilization should be sural-podal, not requiring knee immobilization both in conservative and surgical treatment of these injuries. The medial access port is preferable in surgical treatment due to the lower potential of sural nerve injury.
Achilles tendon; Ruptures; Tendons
