Aprotinin injections vs cortisone pads

[Jim]

Has anyone had Aprotinin injections for achilles tendons? What is the recovery time like? How long until you can return to running in spikes? I have read the whats on the site and it seems a better result when compared to cortisone injections but what about the cortisone pads (ion-something)? I know that the recovery using cortisone pads is 6 week of progressive rehab, is Aprotinin any quicker? Competition deadlines are looming and traditional treatments doing nothing.

[injuryupdate]

Cortisone pads are not as strong as injections, so won't weaken the tendon as much, but can still weaken it. If there is no degeneration of the tendon on a scan, they may be an option, but cortisone and the Achilles are a bad mix. Main negative for Aprotinin is allergy and they are difficult to come by. Plenty of info on the Aprotinin page on the main part of this website.

We are currently doing a survey of 150 athletes who have had Aprotinin injections for tendons and will report it sometime next year.

[Jim]

Thanks for your reply.

[Jim]

Is the Sports Medicine at Sydney University the only practice in Australia that uses Aprotinin as a treatment for achilles tendon injuries or does it have a wider use amoungst the sports medicine community?

[injuryupdate]

Is the Sports Medicine at Sydney University the only practice in Australia that uses Aprotinin as a treatment for achilles tendon injuries or does it have a wider use amoungst the sports medicine community?

Not that widespread, but some others who have dabbled:

Dr Richard Brown, Sports Physicians ACT
Dr Tony Turner, Tropical Sports Medicine, Cairns
Dr David Humphries, Hobart
Dr Kevin Boundy, Homebush
Dr Ameer Ibrahim, Kensington NSW