title: The seasonal variation of Achilles tendon ruptures in Vancouver, Canada: a retrospective study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the seasonal distribution of tendon ruptures in a large cohort of patients from Vancouver, Canada.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Acute Achilles tendon rupture cases that occurred from 1987 to 2010 at an academic hospital in Vancouver, Canada. Information was extracted from an orthopaedic database.
  
  
  METHODS
  No direct contact was made with the participants. The following information was extracted from the OrthoTrauma database: age, sex, date of injury and season (winter, spring, summer and autumn), date of surgery if date of injury was unknown and type of injury (sport related or non-sport related/unspecified). Only acute Achilles tendon rupture cases were included; chronic cases were excluded along with those that were conservatively managed.
  
  
  METHODS
  The primary outcome was to determine the seasonal pattern of Achilles tendon rupture. Secondary outcomes, such as differences in gender and mechanism of sport (non-sport vs sport related), were also assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 543 cases in total; 83% of the cases were men (average age 39.3) and 17% were women (average age 37.3). In total, 76% of cases were specified as sport related. The distribution of injuries varied significantly across seasons (χ(2), p<0.05), with significantly more cases occurring in spring. The increase in the number of cases in spring was due to sport-related injuries, whereas non-sport-related cases were distributed evenly throughout the year.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The seasonality of sport-related Achilles tendon ruptures should be considered when developing preventive strategies and when timing their delivery.
authors: Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors: Alex
authors: A
authors: Scott
authors: Navdeep
authors: N
authors: Grewal
authors: Pierre
authors: P
authors: Guy
mesh_terms: D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000293:injuries*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D001955:British Columbia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012421:Rupture / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery; D012621:Seasons; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ACCIDENT & EMERGENCY MEDICINE; EPIDEMIOLOGY; HEALTH SERVICES ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT; ORTHOPAEDIC & TRAUMA SURGERY