The Achilles tendon is the largest one in our body and it connects the heel bone with the calf muscle. Due to its size, and the fact that we put a lot of strain on it, injuries such as inflammation or a tear and total rupture, are more often than you think. And they can happen to anyone from professional athletes to people who are not very active.
The Achilles Tendonitis is the injury of this tendon and it can happen due to many reasons such as dancing, running, playing all kinds of sports, everything from football and basketball to tennis and baseball. However, it can be caused by worn-out shoes when running or not stretching and warming up before the workout session. It can also happen if you put sudden pressure on it or if you run on hard surfaces such as concrete. In addition, high heels can also be the cause since they put too much pressure on this tendon.
When it comes to symptoms, the first one is obviously pain which appears when you try to stand on your toes or stretch the ankle. If it is a small inflammation the pain is mild, but if it is something more serious it is pretty severe. Depending on the type of injury it can also increase over time. In the case of a tear, some bruises and swelling can also happen. In addition, it can sometimes occur hours after exercising, but if it is something more serious, you will know as soon as you hurt the tendon.
In order to make a diagnosis, the doctor will do a quick physical exam. He will touch the back of your leg to find the source of discomfort and ask you a series of questions about the severity of ache and how you think the injury happened. He might ask you to walk around, so he can observe your leg and also do something that is called ‘the calf squeeze test’. Rarely and only in the case of excruciating pain, the doctor will order an X-ray, MRI scan, or ultrasound, just to check out what is else could be wrong and cause that great discomfort.
There are several things you can try when it comes to treating Achilles Tendonitis. Clearly, you should not do this on your own without consulting a physician. Ice packs are great for easing inflammation. You should also stop working out for a few days and take it easy. Also, in addition, to prevent the swelling and help the tendon heal, you should keep the leg elevated any chance you get. In some severe cases, you might need physical therapy. You can learn more about the exercises on physioinq.com.au.
For many people, these exercises are pretty annoying because it means that they will have to go to the physician’s office every day. However, shellharbour physio offers you the opportunity to do all of them in your home. This means that their physiotherapists will come to your house to help you recover at your least convenience.
To sum up, in this article, we have discussed some main causes and treatments of the Achilles tendonitis. As you can see, each injury is specific which means that medical consultation is necessary.
