Runners Take Note: Achilles Tendonitis Treatment / Prevention
March 5th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
Running and Achilles tendonitis is a very common injury. The reason for this is the Achilles tendon help lift you off the ground on each stride. What causes Achilles tendonitis in runners?
Overtraining
Ramping your training to fast
Running on hills
Running on surfaces like concrete
Runners need to be aware of any pain or discomfort in the Achilles tendon when there training starts to intensify. If you notice that you are having pain in that area, you need to lower your mileage. If you run on the injured Achilles tendon, you could make the injury worse or you could prolong your recovery time.
First Discover How You Injured the Achilles Tendon
The first thing to do is find out why this happened. Did you have a shift in your training that caused the Achilles tendonitis? Was there an increase in distance or did you start to run harder? If the answer is no, then did you start to run on hillier routes.
Learning what caused the Achilles tendonitis will help in the treatment and a way for you not to make the same mistakes in the future.
Achilles Tendonitis Treatment
What are some ways to treat Achilles tendonitis?
Rest
Ice therapy is effective in the treatment of Achilles tendonitis
Ice packs or wraps help reduce the inflammation
Anti-inflammatory drugs for the pain (consult doctor first)
Massage for Achilles tendonitis as physical therapy
How to Prevent Achilles Tendonitis
If you would like to prevent the suffering and pain associated with Achilles tendonitis, here are some ideas:
Build your training up slowly
Build your intensity up slowly
Run on different surfaces
Run on different elevation levels (hill one day, flat the next)
Allow yourself time to rest and recover from running. This rest is just as important as the run itself. Resting will make you stronger and a more resilient athlete. When you are diagnosed with Achilles tendonitis, you are not happy. But what you can do is learn from the experience. This will prevent it from happening again. Achilles tendonitis treatment & prevention are just some common sense steps. They will go a long way in helping you in the future.
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A Problem for Amateur’s and Professional’s - Achilles Chronic Tendonitis
February 27th, 2007 Subscribe To Our Feed
It is known through Greek Mythology, that Achilles could only be hurt at his heels. That has seemed to have been passed down to us and our bodies.
What is the Achilles Tendon?
This tendon is the one that will connect the calf muscle to the heel bone. This tendon is the biggest tendon we have in the body. It can withstand forces of more than thousand pounds. The bad part is it has the potential of rupturing. Achilles chronic tendonitis can occur in both amateur and professional athletes a like. Achilles chronic tendonitis can happen due to over use and can become inflamed and quite sore.
Achilles Tendonitis Symptoms
How do we develop Achilles chronic tendonitis and what are the symptoms? Achilles chronic tendonitis can happen when:
Increased speed in running
Hill climbing or stair climbing during training
Trauma due to sudden or hard contraction of the calf muscles
Starting to early after a layoff
Lack of flexibility of the calf muscle itself
Achilles chronic tendonitis symptoms can be slight pain after you exercise or run. There also can be just sluggishness in the legs themselves. Achilles chronic tendonitis symptom can also be a localized pain that can be quite severe. There can be tenderness during the day especially in the morning. Achilles tendonitis symptom can also take the form of stiffness in the calf muscle that dissipates after the muscle gets warmed up. Another symptom may be some localized swelling to the calf.
Achilles tendonitis symptom can seem like a partial tendon tear or heel bursitis which can become very painful. If you have any or some of these symptoms you should check with an orthopedic surgeon to properly diagnose the condition.
Achilles Tendonitis Treatment
Achilles tendonitis treatment depends on how bad the injury is. The first thing that you will want to do is rest. This can be completely removing yourself from exercise or running for a week or more. Start to take some anti-inflammatory medications to relieve the swelling and this is likely to relieve some of the pain. Try to make sure that these drugs are non-steroidal. Another Achilles tendonitis treatment is the use of orthoses. This device will help support the Achilles muscle and will relieve the stress of the tendon.
The final stage of Achilles tendonitis treatment is surgery. This is the last resort and becomes necessary when the friction between the tendon and it covering sheath thickens and makes the sheath fibrous.
Achilles Chronic Tendonitis Prevention
A person can take some steps to prevent Achilles chronic tendonitis symptoms by:
Choosing the correct running shoes
Warming up prior to exercise
Stretching and walking prior to running
Focus on stretching the calf muscle
Strengthen the calf muscle
Avoid unaccustomed strenuous hill running or sprinting.
With the proper care, Achilles chronic tendonitis symptoms can be avoided and prevented.
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