How To Deal With Achilles Tendinitis

The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the body. Unfortunately, it is also vulnerable and prone to injury. It attaches at the back portion of the calcaneus bone or commonly called the heel bone to the calf muscles of the lower leg. Tendons are strong fibrous tissues that have limited flexibility making them prone to inflammation, irritations, tears or rupture.

Achilles tendinitis is the medical condition where the Achilles tendon becomes irritated or inflamed causing heel pain at the back portion of the foot. This occurs because of overuse of the tendon and is commonly seen on athletes. Overuse or pushing the tendon to its limits causes minute or micro injuries within the tendon. In some cases, a tear can occur or worse, total tear can occur where the calf muscles are totally detached from the heel bone. 

The most common cause of Achilles tendonitis is ignoring the early signs of tendon injury and continuing activity despite of the pain. In some cases when pain is already severe, patients tend to take pain killers and continue with their daily activities. This is an erroneous practice and any foot pain should be taken seriously because this can lead to chronic heel pain, which could be debilitating later on.

Achilles tendonitis is easily treated by basically allowing the foot to rest. This gives the Achilles tendon ample time to heal any injury involved.  Also, cold compress can help with the pain and can suppress any swelling. Calf stretching and massage can help reduce muscle tension on the Achilles tendon.

Some modalities like ESWT or extracorporeal shockwave therapy is an excellent non-invasive treatment especially for chronic heel pain. This machine sends multiple ultrasonic shock waves to the heel producing microscopic injuries. This in turn improves circulation because this creates vasculogenesis or new blood vessel growth. ESWT uses the own regenerative healing properties of the body to treat chronic heel pain. Pain relief is instantaneous in some patients after one treatment, while others will experience a tingling sensation and significant pain relief.