To elaborate an evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline to facilitate decision-making to the professional, to diminish the variability in their clinical practice and to improve attention of the patients operated on for acute Achilles tendon rupture.
Inclusion of the recommendations in the Clinical Practice Guideline was carried out by:
Review of the 鈥渂est evidence鈥?published based on a computerized literature search of Medline, PEDro, IME, EnFisPo and Cochrane, from the year they were created to January 2008.
Analysis of the 鈥渂est clinical experience鈥?of the experts group.
Final synthesis of the evidence, clinical experience and physiopathology reasoning.
Three treatment phases of physiotherapy were established using the weeks 2nd鈥?th, 9th鈥?4th, 15th鈥撀?7th. The recommendations included and that were based on scientific evidence were: early physiotherapy program; TENS burst 100 Hz; pulsed magnetic field of 27 MHz and 1 Gauss; application of continuous low intensity ultrasound at 0.5 w/cm2; a program of active exercise by flexor hallucis longus and eccentric exercise of the injured area.
The present Clinical Guideline reflects the current status of knowledge on the therapeutic recommendations that physiotherapists should include in their programs. Eleven recommendations have been included, combining the best evidence with the physiopathology reasoning and consensus among a group of experts.