Ruptured Achilles Tendon

Imaging the Achilles tendon is technically easy and a nice way to rapidly confirm your diagnosis of tear.  Always compare to the unaffected side.  Beware anisotropy which can make sections of any tendonous structure look black and torn.  If the ultrasound beam is interrogating a section of tendon away from 90 degrees it can look dark.  A careful sweep with the probe or, when possible, stretching of the tendon to make it straighter, will usually clarify tear vs artifact.

Two examples are provided below by Dr. Gordon. [Ed.]

A sort of vague, basketball injury, one week old. This wasn’t too difficult clinically. But it’s nice to see the exact pathology, which seems to be a separation of the musculo-tendinous junction with a lot of separation and hematoma.