title: Achilles tendon and plantar fascia in recently diagnosed type II diabetes: role of body mass index.
abstract: Previous research has shown that plantar fascia and Achilles tendon thickness is increased in diabetes. The aims of present study were to assess whether tendon changes can occur in the early stages of the disease and to evaluate the extent of the influence of body mass index (BMI). The study population included 51 recent-onset type II diabetic subjects, who were free from diabetic complications, divided according to BMI into three groups (normal weight, overweight, and obese). Eighteen non-diabetic, normal-weight subjects served as controls. Plantar fascia and Achilles tendon thickness was measured by means of sonography. The groups were well balanced for age and sex. In all the diabetic subjects, plantar fascia and Achilles tendon thickness was increased compared to the controls (p < 0.001, p = 0.01, p = 0.003, respectively). A significant relationship was found between plantar fascia thickness and BMI values (r = 0.749, p < 0.0001), while the correlation between BMI and Achilles tendon was weaker (r = 0.399, p = 0.004). This study shows that plantar fascia and Achilles tendon thickness is increased in the early stages of type II diabetes and that BMI is related more to plantar fascia than Achilles tendon thickness. Further longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate whether these early changes can overload the metatarsal heads and increase the stress transmitted to plantar soft tissues, thus representing an additional risk factor for foot ulcer development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, Infrared Imaging Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, University G. d' Annunzio Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti Scalo, CH, Italy. m.abate@unich.it
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abate
authors.forename: Cosima
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schiavone
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Carlo
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Salini
mesh_terms: D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005205:Fascia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D036981:Fasciitis, Plantar / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology; D014463:Ultrasonography; D016474:Weight-Bearing