Achilles Tendonitis
Achilles Tendonitis Treatment Hunters Hill
Five Dock Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Centre proudly offer quality achilles tendonitis treatment to residents in Hunters Hill and surrounding suburbs.
Connecting the ankle joint to the heel, the Achilles tendon is often injured, especially in high impact sports and running.
Achilles tendonitis , literally meaning inflammation of the Achilles tendon, results in pain and sometimes swelling focused at the back of the heel. This often leads to extremely tight calf muscles, and pain upon walking.
Five Dock Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre offer quality physiotherapy care for achilles tendonitis.
Causes
Achilles tendonitis can be caused by over-use or persistent strain. In extreme cases of strain, the tendon may even rupture.
Most commonly Achilles tendonitis is the result of too much exercise and over-pronation. It’s important to warm up for sports to minimise strain through the Achilles tendon, especially for sports that require fast directional changes. Achilles tendonitis can also occur from wearing high heels for prolonged periods, a sudden significant increase in physical activity without a graduated approach to training, wearing poorly fitting shoes, having bone spurs on the back of your heels, or just getting older as the Achilles tendon weakens with age! Rheumatoid arthritis and infection are both factors which are also linked to tendonitis.
The main symptom of Achilles tendonitis is pain or swelling on the back of the heel when walking or running. You may also experience tight calf muscles, limited range of motion when the foot is flexed, and the skin on the heel may also be warm to touch.
Treatment
The two main aims when treating Achilles tendonitis are to reduce the strain upon the tendon, and to reduce inflammation.
Unfortunately this usually means reducing high impact sports and running for a period of time and potentially wearing orthotics.
Anti-inflammatory drugs may help reduce inflammation, especially when combined with ice treatment. Motion restriction may also help – this can be achieved by using a cast or boot.
Specific exercises which focus on gently stretching the calf muscle can be introduced once the acute stage of inflammation has passed.
As a last resort, surgery can be used to reattach the tendon in the most severe cases. Rehabilitation after surgery will generally allow return to normal activity within a period of 10 weeks, and to competitive sports in approximately 3 to 6 months.