What Is Achilles Tendinopathy?
Achilles tendinopathy is an inflammation of the Achilles tendon, a thick band of tissue that joins the calf muscles to the heel at the rear of the lower leg. Tendinopathy is a term that describes any problem with a tendon, whether it is short-term or long-term. When a person pushes their foot off the ground (e.g., runs or jumps), the Achilles tendon distributes force from the calf muscles down to the foot, and it also helps control the position of the ankle when the foot lands back on the ground (eg, lands). When the demand placed on the Achilles tendon exceeds its ability to function, Achilles tendinopathy develops. The disease can develop as a result of a single incidence (acute damage) or as a result of repeated irritation (or “microtrauma”) (chronic injury). Achilles tendon pain is most commonly caused by repetitive damage to the tendon, which can lead to chronic Achilles tendinopathy, which is a slow disintegration of the tissue, and is usually treated with physiotherapy.
Several factors have been related to Achilles tendinopathy, including:
- Calf muscle tightness
- Calf muscle weakness
- Abnormal foot structure
- Abnormal foot biomechanics
- Improper footwear
- A change in an exercise routine or sport activity
- Obesity
Tenderness can be felt anywhere along the tendon, but it’s most frequent immediately above the heel (known as midportion Achilles tendinopathy), however it can also be felt where the tendon joins the heel (known as insertional Achilles tendinopathy).
Symptoms
You may encounter the following symptoms if you have Achilles tendinopathy:
- Manually applied pressure causes tenderness in the heel or higher up in the Achilles tendon.
- Walking causes pain and stiffness, which is worse during the initial few steps.
- Tightness in the calf
- Swelling in the back of the ankle
Diagnosis
Your physiotherapist will go over your medical history with you and examine your heel, ankle, and calf thoroughly. Your foot posture, strength, flexibility, and movement will be evaluated by your physiotherapist. This may entail seeing you stand in a relaxed stance, stroll, crouch, step onto a stair, or raise your heels. Other elements of your leg’s mobility and strength will be evaluated as well.
In order to find other contributing causes to your disease, your physiotherapist may ask questions about your everyday activities, workout regimens, and footwear.
To diagnose Achilles tendinopathy, imaging modalities like as X-ray or MRI are frequently not required. If your problem does not respond to conservative treatment, your physiotherapist will confer with other medical professionals, such as an orthopedist, to identify the best treatment approach for your unique situation.
Treatments of Achilles Tendinopathy
Physiotherapy helps people recover from Achilles tendinopathy by addressing issues like discomfort, edoema, and a lack of strength, flexibility, or body control in the affected area. Together, you and your physiotherapist will create a tailored treatment plan to help you achieve your specific goals in the safest and most efficient manner possible. Your treatment may involve the following:
Education.
Your physiotherapist will work with you to identify any external variables that may be contributing to your pain, such as improper footwear or motions or exercises. Your physiotherapist will evaluate your footwear and provide recommendations for changes, as well as build a specific training programme to help you return to your favourite activities pain-free.
Pain management.
Many pain-relieving measures can be used, including icing the affected area, bracing the affected leg, employing heel lifts, or using therapies like iontophoresis (an electrically charged medicinal patch applied on the skin to reduce pain and inflammation) or therapeutic ultrasound. These methods can help people use less pain medication, including opioids.
Manual therapy.
Hands-on treatments may be used by your physiotherapist to gently move your muscles and joints in order to improve their motion and function. These methods are frequently used to treat areas that are tough to treat on your own.
Range-of-motion treatments.
It’s possible that your ankle, foot, or knee joint isn’t moving properly, putting extra strain on your Achilles tendon. Self-stretching and manual treatment approaches (massage and movement) performed to the lower body can assist restore and normalise motion in the foot, ankle, knee, and hip.
Gentle exercise.
Exercise that loads the tendon (by putting weight or resistance to it) aids rehabilitation from Achilles tendinopathy. Starting with mild strengthening exercises in a seated position is a good place to start (eg, pushing and pulling on a resistive band with your foot). After that, you can go on to standing exercises (eg, standing heel raises).
Muscle-strengthening exercises.
Excessive tension on the Achilles tendon can be caused by muscle weakness or imbalance. Your physiotherapist will create a tailored, progressive lower-extremity resistance programme for you based on your specific condition to help correct any weakness-related movement mistakes that may be contributing to your pain.
Functional training.
You’ll need to gradually return to more demanding tasks once your pain has subsided and your strength and range of motion have improved. It’s critical to educate your body safe, controlled motions to reduce the strain on the Achilles tendon and the danger of recurrent damage. Your physiotherapist will construct a series of activities based on your objectives and mobility assessment to assist you learn how to utilise and move your body correctly to safely complete the tasks required to achieve your goals.
Can Achilles Tendinopathy Condition be prevented?
The best techniques for preventing Achilles tendinopathy are maintaining sufficient lower-extremity mobility and muscular strength, as well as paying close attention to your exercise routine—particularly changes in an exercise surface, the amount of exercises performed, and your footwear.
When you’ve had an injury, your physiotherapist can help you work through a procedure that gradually reintroduces more demanding activities into your routine while avoiding hurting your Achilles tendon. It’s important to remember that returning to high-intensity activities too soon after an accident can result in another bout of discomfort.
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What to Expect on Your First Visit:
- At Physiotouch Courtice, you will register with our friendly front office staff.
- A comprehensive assessment by a Physiotherapist or other Health Care Provider will take you through a detailed history of your major physical concern, assessment of your range of motion and strength, as well as a variety of special tests specific to your injury or dysfunction. These assessment findings are analyzed and used to create a clinical impression. This will help us to better identifying and understanding your problem and formulating an effective treatment plan tailored specifically for your needs and to achieve the realistic goals. This treatment plan could involve a number of things including therapeutic exercises, therapeutic modalities, manual mobilizations, massage, patient and family education, activity modification, home exercise programs, supervised exercise programs and many others.
- There will be some treatments performed the first day to get you started on your path to recovery. However, during the next visits you will get into all aspects of your treatment plan.
- Our staff will help you scheduling your next visits at Physiotouch Courtice as per treatment plan recommended by related Health Care Provider. We offer many convenient appointment times, however, prime times can become busy, so it is best to book ahead as much as possible.
- If you have any questions at any time, please do not hesitate to call. We want to ensure your satisfaction and full recovery.
Before Your First Visit
- You will receive a confirmation email shortly after booking your appointment.
- This email will contain some forms which you can fill out and sign from your device in handy.
- If you have any questions, ask us before signing the form.
- If you are not able to access the forms online, please arrive 15 minutes early for your first appointment so that we can help you with the paperwork.
- Make a list of questions that you want to discuss on your first visit.
- Bring with you if you have any imaging reports (i.e.) X-rays, Ultrasound/MRI (etc.) and doctor’s referral.
- Bring with you a copy of your insurance card and a photo ID.