Our Ballarat Podiatrist, Jade Leonard, takes a deep dive into Achilles Tendon pain. Known by podiatrists as Achilles Tendinopathy, a combination of the words tendon and pathology. As a patient, you might refer to it as Achilles Tendinitis. Common symptoms include stiffness upon waking, pain and swelling at the tendon.

The Achilles tendon is the thickest tendon in the body. It attaches the calf muscles to the heel bone.  The Achilles tendon acts like a spring, it absorbs stretching forces and then releases the energy when we move. Activities like running and jumping require high energy demands from the Achilles. 

Achilles tendinopathy is an “overuse injury”. The injury usually starts with the tendon being asked to do more than what it is capable of. Following this, changes take place in the tendon at a cellular level. A number of cells in the tendon become disrupted and disorganized. In the later stages of a tendinopathy this can lead to degeneration of the cells and therefore the tendon. For this reason tendons usually respond better to rehabilitation rather than anti-inflammatory treatments. 

There are two different types of Achilles tendinopathy, mid-portion which accounts for approximately 80% of all Achilles tendinopathy presentations and insertional which accounts for approximately 20% of all Achilles tendinopathy presentations. The treatment for each condition differs slightly. 

Whilst it is a very common injury for those who are physically active it can also affect people who are not physically active. There are a variety of risk factors. including:

-       Increased age

-       Male

-       Altered weight bearing surface

-       Type of exercise/training

-       Poor training technique

-       Sudden increase in activity

-       Poor footwear

-       Genetic factors

-       Hormones

-       Pre-existing tendon abnormalities

-       Tight calf muscles 

-       Foot structure/function 

How do I treat it? 

Firstly, your Ballarat Podiatrist will need to get the diagnosis correct. There are a number of structures that sit adjacent to the tendon such as the plantaris muscle, calcaneus and a number of bursae. Your Ballarat Podiatrist will need to ensure that the cause of your heel pain is the Achilles Tendon.

There are a number of factors involved in treating tendinopathies and it is rarely a ‘one size fits all’ approach. It is important to address all the factors that are specific to you if you want to reduce your chances of the injury reoccuring. 

Some common treatments include: 

• Strengthening 
• Load management (both internal and external factors)
• Stretching 
• Adding heel raises to footwear
• Dry needling 
• Shockwave 
• Footwear modifications 

The team at Ballarat Podiatry understand how frustrating Achilles Tendon injuries are. That’s why our Ballarat podiatrists focus on listening to you, getting the correct diagnosis and setting the treatment plan that will get you back on track as soon as possible.

Take better care of your feet, book now at Ballarat Podiatry.