What are we listening to this week? The Plantaris…

Thanks to Karly Foster of Twin Bridges Physiotherapy the: Physioedge podcast with David Pope

Imagine if you were able to dedicate a large portion of your life to the study of one individual muscle. That’s exactly what the main person interviewed here has done Dr. Kristof Spang from Sweden has done.  a lot of research on Achilles tendon tendinopathy.This podcast looks at the role of the plantaris muscle in mid tendon tendinopathy, with an emphasis on anatomy.

This muscle needs to be considered in recalcitrant cases of Achilles tendon apathy which of not respond to conservative means.

Dr Spang goes through some of the anatomical variations of attachment of the plantaris, with 10 to 20% attaching into the Achilles tendon. Since there seems to be at least nine different anatomical variations in attachment that can occur; this can often explain the variety of symptoms associated with plantaris issues.

The plantaris attaches from the lateral aspect of the femoral condyle downward to its insertion point within deli near its origin at the knee. The area of attachment distally can be between two and 5 mm and this “area attachment” may be part of the source of the pain. Phylogenetically the tendon attaches into the plantar fashia, similar to the palmaris. One theory is due to the small muscle size it may actually act as a proprioceptive sentinel for the knee and ankle. The peritendonous tissue may interfere with the gliding of the tendon in this is believed to be one of the ideologies of this recalcitrant problem.

Of the diagnostic imaging available, ultrasound seems to provide the most clues. In the absence of imaging, recalcitrant medial knee tendon Achilles tendon pain seems to also be a good indicator.

Our takeaway was that most often the problem seems to be had a conjoined area between the planters and Achilles tendon midcalf lead to most problems. Treatment concentrated in this area may have better results. If this is unsuccessful, surgery (removal of the plantaris, extreme, eh?)  may need to be considered.

Regarding specific tests for plantaris involvement, people who pronate seem to be more susceptible than those who supinate. This is not surprising since the tendon runs from lateral to medial it would be under more attention during predatory forces

It seems that plantaris tendonopathy  can exist separately from an conjoint tendinopathy and it may be that people of younger age may suffer from plantaris tendinopathy alone. This may indicate that the problem may begin with the plantaris and that the planters is actually stronger and stiffer than the Achilles!

It was emphasized that this condition only exists in a small percentage of mid Achilles tendon apathy patients. And that conservative means should always be exhausted first.

All in all, an interesting discussion for those who are interested in pathoanatomy. Check out part 2 in this series for more. 

link to PODcast: http://physioedge.com.au/physio-edge-041-plantaris-involvement-in-midportion-achilles-tendinopathy/