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Home Tag: "achilles tendon pain"

Tag: achilles tendon pain

achillesTendon
24Jan

achillesTendonIt is normal for the Achilles ligament to get injured. The tendon stretches from the heel to the calf muscles, and it is the largest tendon in the body. It is springy and is felt at the back of the ankle. It mainly helps raise your toes and point the toes towards the floor. It is common to feel stiffness or burning pain at the back of your leg, which is an indication that the is partly or entirely torn. Achilles tendon pain affects your ability to walk.

Causes of Achilles tendon

Every time you walk, you use the Achilles tendon to move the foot, although, it is prone to injury due to poor circulation.

  • An injury can happen due to increased stress on the tendon through intense sports, especially those involving jumping, falling, or stepping into a hole.
  • Achilles tendinitis injury can affect some parts of the tendon. There are two main types under this category the non-insertional Achilles tendinitis, which is an injury to the middle of the tendon when it breaks or swells, and the insertional Achilles tendinitis that affects the lower part of the heel and can cause bone spurs.
  • is common among weekend warriors, who are mainly middle-aged people participating in sports part-time.
  • Illness or medications such as certain antibiotics or steroids weaken the tendon leaving it prone to injuries.

Achilles tendon issues can be very uncomfortable to live with. If you are experiencing pain with your achilles tendon, contact the podiatrist at DeNiel Foot & Ankle Center. Our doctor can provide the care you need to keep you pain-free and on your feet.

Some factors that increase the risk of Achilles tendon rupture include:

  1. Age between 30 to 40 is more likely to experience Achilles injury.
  2. Tendon injury is more likely to occur in men than women.
  3. Recreational sports that have sudden stop and start, involving jumping or running, such as tennis, soccer, and basketball.
  4. Antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin increase the risk of tendon injury.
  5. Being overweight puts more strain on the tendon.
  6. Steroid injections into the ankle joint can weaken the nearby tendons and can be associated with a tendon injury.

Prevention of

The chances of developing Achilles tendon injury can be reduced by:

Stretching the calf until there is a noticeable pull. The stretching exercise keeps the tendon strong and increases its ability to absorb force thus preventing injury.

Alternate high impact sports with low-impact sports. Alternate running with swimming, and when injured avoid activities that place excess stress on the Achilles tendons.

Avoid running or training on slippery and hard surfaces.

Dress in well-fitting athletics shoes with properly cushioned heels and in cold weather dress warmly.

Increase training intensity slowly, that is the increase in distance, duration, or frequency, should be done at a rate of 10 percent.

The obvious symptom of Achilles tendon injury is pain above your heel when you are on your feet. The injury pain is usually instant but the area might be stiff, tender, and swollen. Immediately you notice symptoms of tendon injury, start by resting and applying ice, compression, and keeping the leg elevated until you can visit an Achilles tendon specialist for further treatment.

foot pain
4Feb

What Causes ?

More than fifty percent of runners suffer from an injury every year. Every elite runner knows that being sidelined for running injuries, especially , pain, and the , is disappointing. People think running injuries occur because they increased the distance or intensity, or they did not stretch before and after running among other reasons. Some of these reasons aggravate an already underlying problem.

Most injuries are due to biochemical imbalance which causes the breakdown of the body due to subjective repetitive load causes. Biochemical imbalances cause muscle weakness and other imbalances that cause running injuries include

foot pain

Muscle Flexibility Imbalances

A tight muscle is a common reason for a running injury. It is very possible to do a few stretches and get back running without pain. Simple, right! No, it's not because the stretches help you re-align a muscle or tissue and you are back running again. The main question is what was the cause of the tight muscle? First, you need to find out why the muscle is overworking or tightening because stretching is a temporal solution. A tight hamstring may be as a result of weak abdominal muscles or glute muscle. These might be forcing the hamstring to compensate and with a few stretches you do not solve the weak abs or glutes and the problem might recur.

Soft Tissue Imbalances

This is complex, but changes in muscle tension can trigger points of fascia tightness. Muscle tension affects how the body functions, but with regular massage, the muscles relax.

Structural Imbalances

The body is not perfectly symmetrical; that is the right side of the body is not the same as the left side. People who cope well have minor asymmetries of the body depending on the number of differences. Others have severe structural imbalances that need more attention to avoid overstraining causing injuries from time to time.  

Muscle Strength Imbalances

For optimal functioning of the body, a balance between the inside and outside, the right and left side, the bottom and top, and the front and back of the body should be maintained. If the muscles of the right leg are weaker the muscles of the left leg will have difficulties. Unfortunately, there is never enough exercise to strengthen your muscles as you would expect. It is important to note that every joint in your body is affected when you work on one muscle. Effective muscle exercises need to be tailored individually for running purposes.

Some common running injuries include

Plantar fasciitis

This is an irritation of the fibrous tissue at the base of the heel due to forced strain on the plantar fascia. One experiences an arch pain or heel pain and the foot hurts with every step making running very difficult. This injury is common with runners who have very low or very high arches because the plantar fascia is forced to stretch. The pain caused by plantar fasciitis can continue for months and even years before completely healing so it should be treated as soon as possible.

Achilles tendon pain

The Achilles tendon is the strongest and thickest tendon connecting the back of the heel and calf muscles. The is the painful inflammation of the tendon. The pain is common in the morning or with activity. Avoid training amidst this injury because the pain will eventually hinder the ability to jog lightly. Runners who have tight, weak calves are vulnerable to this injury.

Choosing the right running shoe is one of the protective ways in which runners can safeguard themselves from injuries. Correct your biomechanics to decrease the probability of injuries.

tendon
25Oct

The orcalcaneal tendonorheel cord, is the big entwinedensemble of fibrous tissuesthat is located at the back of the lower leg and connects the calf muscles(gastrocnemius and soleus muscles) to the heel bones (calcaneal tuberosity on the calcaneus).It is the largest and the strongest tendon in the human body. The Achilles tendon endures a lot of stress and pressure in the normal day-to-day activities, such as, walking, jumping, running, as well as athletic activities. However, a rupture in the Achilles tendon can be caused among the people of any age group, but most ruptures are caused during the age of 30-50, among the people who are very physically active or are professional athletes.

The tears in the tendon fibers can result in a partial or total disruption of the tendon. If you hear sudden pop sound at the back of the calf, then the condition might need instant medical care.

 tendon

Achilles Tendon: Causes

Achillis Tendonitis is normally caused by repetitive and intense pressure on the Achilles Tendon. The structure of the Tendon weakens with age, making it more prone to the injury. There are two main types of Tendonitis:

The first type of Tendonitis, Non-insertional Achilles Tendonitis, usually affects the younger adults. It causes pain and swelling as the small slits of the middle fibers of the tendon begins to disrupt.

The second type of Tendonitis, Insertional Achilles Tendonitis, can occur at any age, even to people who are not very physically active. The pain is caused due to additional bone development at the spot where the Tendon meets the heel bone.

Achilles Tendon: Symptoms

Achilles Tendonitis can weaken the tendon and can make the tendon more prone to the rupture, which may require an immediate surgical repair. The symptoms of Achilles Tendonitis are:

  1. Stiffness, aching or swelling within the tendon. Pain can be at its intensity upon waking up in the morning and worsening during the day due to increased activities. The pain would occur at the back of the leg or near the heel.
  1. Powerful penetrating pain when the sides of the tendon are squeezed. However, when the back of the tendon is touched or squeezed there is considerably less pain.
  1. Enlargement or growth of nodules may arise in the spots where the tissue is injured. The patient will experience difficulty in bending the affected foot.

Achilles Tendon: Treatment

After the Achillis Tendonitis is diagnosed by the doctor through your medical history, visible symptoms and X-ray results, it is important to get the right treatment.Treatment depends on the severity of the injury. If the injury is not very intense, the doctor will ask you to take considerable amount of rest, frequent ice compression at the affected area, intake of pain relieving drugs, special exercises that you can do on your own to strengthen the calf muscle, physiotheraphy, orthotic shoes (to lift your heel).

If the above treatment is not of much relief then the might recommend surgery. Some of the surgical methods may include: surgery to extend the gastrocnemius (calf muscle) decline or surgery to remove the excess bone growth and to repair the tendon. 

It is very important to seek out a podiatrist if you believe you have an injury in the Achilles region, because further damage could result in severe complications that would make being mobile difficult, if not impossible.