The Achilles Tendon is the thick tendon at the back of the ankle. It is what connects the muscles of the calf, the gastroc and the soleus, to the heel. This tendon allows you to run, walk, jump, and change directions. Unfortunately this tendon can get injured fairly easily due to how many actions it performs every day. Achilles tendinitis is one of the most common injuries for both high school athletes and adults who are trying to get back into exercising.
What is Achilles Tendinitis?
This is where the muscle fibers of the calf become more tendinous and lose their elasticity. When they are overworked or not properly prepared for activity, this can lead to an increase in swelling, increased load on these fibers. The swelling of the tendon is what is called Achilles tendonitis. This can progress to either a partial or a full tear if it is left untreated.
Achilles tendonitis is influenced by several factors, which include:
- Previous training of an athlete.
- Recent weight gain.
- Athletes overall training volume.
- Intensity of exercise.
Those who are in their 40’s and getting back into exercising have the highest chance of getting Achilles tendinitis, especially runners who have a 50% chance of getting achilles tendonitis when progressing their exercises on their own. This is because as we age the tendons of the body undergo degenerative changes.
One of the most common changes is that the tendons lose their elasticity and become increasingly stiff, especially if there was a decrease in a person’s activity level. This means that when you start getting back into working out, exercises that you used to do easily are much harder and you can put a significantly greater strain on the tendon if you do not progress appropriately. Even worse, many people who suffer from Achilles tendinitis try to fix it by just resting. While this may ease your symptoms while you rest, it leads to a 44% recurrence rate. That means when people treat this injury on their own, roughly half of them end up re-injuring themselves.
Treatment for Achilles Tendinitis
Due to the high chance of recurrence of this injury, it is important to get proper treatment treat the root of the cause. With proper treatment the recurrence rate drops significantly and patients are able to return to their recreational exercise programs without being limited by chronic achilles tendinitis.
At LSTC we use current, evidence based treatments to ensure that our patients are able to make an optimal recovery. This includes the use if isometric based exercises (where the tendon is placed under an appropriate load but does not change lengths to help increase the blood flow and reduce inflammation), eccentric strengthening (where the muscle fibers resist a laid while lengthening), and patient specific functional movements to ensure that you are able to get back to the goals that matter the most to you.
