About Achilles Tendinopathy or Tendinitis

The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body and runs from a person’s heelbone to all manner of injuries, including chronic Achilles tendinopathy and Achilles insertional tendinopathy.

Classical Achilles tendinopathy is the swelling and inflammation of the Achilles tendon. Achilles insertional tendinopathy is the degeneration of the tendon right where it attaches to a complete rupture.

The injury is mostly found in sports that require running and jumping, like basketball, volleyball and soccer. It’s an overuse injury that’s caused when the tendon is constantly exposed to the fibers of the tendon being progressively broken down.

The condition can be made worse by wearing the wrong footwear and abrupt changes in the patient’s training program. People who engage in a sport without warming up first are also at risk for Achilles tendinopathy.

Achilles tendinopathy sympto excruciating. Sometimes the patient only feels pain when he or she is active. Other people feel pain in the tendon even when they’re resting. The patient might also experience thickening and swelling around the tendon. There might also be morning stiffness around the tendon and the lower leg in general.

Immediate treatment for a patient’s Achilles tendinopathy symptoms is RICE therapy. This means:

• Rest
Rest the lower leg.

• Ice
A cold pad or an ice pack should be applied to 30 minutes every two hours for at least three days.

• Compression
Compressing the injury can mean wrapping it in a crepe bandage from the joint beneath it to the knee.

• Elevation
The leg should be elevated. After this, the patient should find a doctor. The physicians at New York Dynamic Neuromuscular Rehabilitation are highly skilled and experienced at treating sports injuries.

Short term treatment for Achilles tendinopathy may include the doctor will also prescribe pain-killers for any discomfort.

If the condition doesn’t respond to the Achilles tendon but other diseases like psoriasis, gout, bursitis, high cholesterol levels, skeletal abnormalities and the use of drugs like corticosteroids.

Surgery for insertional Achilles tendonitis is used to remove any of the damaged tissue, possible bits of bone that are causing irritation and inflamed bursae. These are little pouches that hold a fluid that lubricates the joints and other structures.

A docto lower the body during the exercise.

Other Achilles tendinopathy exercises are bench presses and shoulder presses, both of which use dumbbells and are performed while seated. The physical therapist might also recommend exercises that stabilize the patient’s core, like the dead bug. This unfortunately named exercise probably got its name because it’s done while lying on the back. The dead bug is a type of pilates exercise and should be done only after the patient has become proficient at single arm and leg raises.

As the healing process goes on the patient’s pain and morning stiffness should be greatly reduced. Now, the patient can use weights with the straight knee and eccentric calf-drops and can progress to work on a cross trainer and a stepper.

Later, the patient should keep up with the calf drops and can begin walking the jogging on a treadmill till they are free of pain. The patient can also use weights on his or her lower limbs.

Just before the patient returns to lift heavier leg weights, perform various kinds of hops and jumps, run and perform full training and drills for their sport of choice, all without pain. The leg that had been injured should have no less than 90 percent of the ability of the uninjured leg.

The patient should understand that it will take at least a few weeks for him or her to make sure that the injury doesn’t recur.

Give New York Dynamic Neuromuscular Rehabilitation a call today for more information on our options for innovative treatment for Achilles tendinopathy.