Carbon‐14 bomb pulse dating shows that tendinopathy is preceded by years of abnormally high collagen turnover

Tendons are essential weight-bearing structures that are often affected by tendinopathy, which leads to pain and impaired mobility. In healthy Achilles tendons, no significant renewal of the weight-bearing collagen matrix seems to occur during adult life, but tendinopathy may lead to increased turnover. The carbon-14 ([14C]) bomb pulse method was used to measure lifelong replacement rates of collagen in tendinopathic and healthy Achilles tendons...