Tendinopathy Education on the Achilles

Participants will be randomly assigned to a pain education group, following biopsychosocial model, or standard of care education, following biomedical model. The goals of the pain education intervention are for patients to 1) address fear of movement and pain catastrophizing specific to AT, 2) learn about the neurophysiology of pain, 3) develop coping skills, and 4) promote exercise participation through pacing. This program enables patients to have a conceptual change in their understanding of what causes pain, gain greater control over the psychological aspects of pain, and reduce the perceived threat of chronic pain. Participants will be given weekly online exercises to promote engagement with the material, give individual feedback to participants, and assess understanding. In person sessions with the physical therapist will reinforce self-learning and application to a home exercise program.

The comparison group will be given education based on standard of care resources that primarily utilize a biomedical model, which assumes that AT pain is primarily caused by tissue damage. The videos, handouts, and exercises will be equivalent to the pain education group in terms of time and learning requirements.