The Best Treatment for Achilles Tendonitis!
Achilles tendon injuries are an extremely common injury amongst runners.
What causes Achilles tendonitis?
There are multiple causes of this problem. Sometimes it is a simple case of overload: too much, too soon.
Sometimes there is a dramatic change in training – maybe changing from flat running to hills or from slow paced running to sprints. It is very important to make sure that enough time is allowed for adaptation to the muscles and tendons to occur.
What exactly is Achilles tendinitis?
Achilles injuries may result in inflammation of the tendon. Continued wear and tear to the tendon causes degenerative changes in the tendon. Sometimes long standing injuries the tendon may have calcification within it.
What are the symptoms of Achilles tendinitis?
Most people report to the clinic with the following symptoms;
Tenderness in the Achilles tendon
Stiffness, especially when getting up in the morning
A general ache throughout the day which may ease when warming up
Reduced range of movement in the ankle joint
A thickening of the tendon
What is the best treatment for Achilles tendinitis?
It is important to understand the pathology of the injury. Some patients that we see have been told to rest. This approach very rarely works. Yes, rest will stop it getting worse but will not cause it to heal.
It is important to look at the biomechanics of the ankle when running. Sometimes the runner over pronates at heel strike thereby placing excessive lateral forces on the Achilles tendon. This can be fixed either with orthotics or with awareness of the problem and re training the runner’s gait.
Along side gait retraining is specific strengthening exercises, deep tissue massage techniques and ankle mobilizations to ensure there is no ankle joint restrictions.
The time is takes to fix the problem depends how long the runner has had it and what state the tendon is in. if they are seen early in the process 3-4 weeks will be enough to heal the damage. However if the runner has been running through the problem for months or years “hoping it would go away”, treatment is likely to take months.
She has worked extensively in private practice and excels in the treatment of athletes with sports injuries and in the corporate sector with back and neck pain.
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Tags: Achilles Pain, Achilles Tendonitis, Ankle Pain, Calf Pain, Heel Pain, Running Injuries