{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T14:04:47Z","timestamp":1774274687241,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774051200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Life"],"abstract":"<jats:p>(1) Achilles tendon rupture is one of the most severe lower-limb injuries, frequently occurring during movements involving maximal dorsiflexion with the knee at near-full extension. Preventive strategies are crucial, particularly for athletes engaged in high-risk sports such as basketball. (2) In this work, we examined the effect of a novel Achilles brace on Achilles tendon loading during concentric and eccentric mechanisms associated with tendon rupture. (3) Twenty-eight young basketball players performed tests under two conditions: with the adaptive brace and without it (control). Participants were divided into two groups (n = 14 in both). The first group assessed concentric Achilles loading by performing three plantar-flexor strength tests in three different joint configurations: maximal dorsiflexion with the knee flexed (FKF); injury mechanism position\u2014full plantar flexion with the knee extended (FKE); and neutral ankle position with the knee extended (NKE). The number of maximal heel-raise repetitions performed before onset of fatigue was recorded. The second group assessed eccentric tendon loading by performing single-leg forced maximal-velocity dorsiflexion with the knee extended. In all tests, the time between maximal plantar flexion and maximal dorsiflexion, as well as the ankle range of motion, was analyzed using 2D video. Paired t-tests were used to compare braced and control conditions. In all tests, the ankle range of motion (ROM) did not differ significantly between brace and control conditions. Wearing the brace significantly improved plantar-flexor muscle strength only in the FKE test (31 \u00b1 1.3 repetitions with brace vs. 21 \u00b1 1.3 in control, p &lt; 0.05). No significant differences were found for the FKF (27 \u00b1 1.3 vs. 25 \u00b1 1.3) or NKE (25 \u00b1 1.3 vs. 24 \u00b1 1.3) positions. During drop eccentric loading, wearing the brace resulted in a significantly slower transition time from plantar flexion to dorsiflexion (460 \u00b1 60 ms with brace vs. 320 \u00b1 30 ms in control, p &lt; 0.001). (4) In brief, the novel Achilles brace was found to significantly reduces Achilles tendon load during both concentric and eccentric activities, but only in high-risk joint positions. These findings suggest that the brace provides mechanical protection, and may reduce the risk of Achilles tendon rupture, in athletes exposed to high tendon stress.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/life16030524","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T13:07:06Z","timestamp":1774271226000},"page":"524","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Effect of a Novel Achilles Brace on Concentric and Eccentric Achilles Tendon Loading During Tendon Tear Mechanisms"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5557-0981","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roni","family":"Gottlieb","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences, The Levinsky-Wingate Academic College (Wingate Campus), Netanya 4290200, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-4310-7469","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shai","family":"Greenberg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Human Movement and Sport Sciences, The Levinsky-Wingate Academic College (Wingate Campus), Netanya 4290200, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5148-5536","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Asaf","family":"Shalom","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education, The Research Center for Sports and Physical Activity, Tel Hai Academic College, Kiryat Shmona 1220800, Israel"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2575-7168","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Julio Calleja","family":"Gonzalez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country, UPV\/EHU, 01007 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"353","DOI":"10.1007\/s12178-022-09774-3","article-title":"Achilles Tendon Ruptures and Repair in Athletes-a Review of Sports-Related Achilles Injuries and Return to Play","volume":"15","author":"Mansfield","year":"2022","journal-title":"Curr. 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