Uphill treadmill running does not induce histopathological changes in the rat Achilles tendon

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether uphill treadmill running in rats created histopathological changes within the Achilles tendon consistent with Achilles tendinosis in humans. METHODS: Twenty-six mature rats selectively bred for high-capacity running were divided into run and cage control groups. Run group rats ran on a treadmill at a 15° incline for a maximum duration of 1 hr/d, 5 d/wk for 9 weeks at increasing speeds, while rats in the cage control group maintained normal cage activity. After 9 weeks, Achilles tendons were harvested for histological processing and semi-quantitative histopathological analysis. RESULTS: There were no significant group differences within each of the individual histopathological categories assessed (all p ≥ 0.16) or for total histopathological score (p = 0.14). CONCLUSIONS: Uphill treadmill running in rats selectively bred for high-capacity running did not generate Achilles tendon changes consistent with the histopathological presentation of Achilles tendinosis in humans.