Achilles tendinopathy is a common injury which is often managed poorly. The Achilles tendon is more prone to injury due to repeated high loads such as running. Runners are 15 times more likely to rupture the Achilles tendon and 30 times more likely to have an Achilles tendinopathy Brukner, P., 2012.
Tendinopathy is caused by a failed healing response from the tendon when it is unable to cope with the increased load or activity, this results in a change to tendon structure Cook, J. L., & Purdam, C. R., 2009. This is common in people who change how they have been exercising. This includes exercise type, amount, intensity and frequency.
It is important to have an early diagnosis, often Achilles tendinopathies are ignored until it limits exercise or normal function. Early diagnosis can significantly reduce the time of limitation from the injury, which with Achilles tendinopathy a full recovery can take 3-6 months. Often it re-occurs due to poor rehabilitation or rapidly increased loading of tendon.
Physiotherapy is the best current treatment for Achilles tendinopathy. Rehabilitation needs to be specific to Achilles tendinopathy, as typical treatment methods will not be beneficial. Consult your physiotherapist for a diagnosis and then the correct rehabilitation for the injury.
Top 3 mistakes made with Achilles Tendinopathies:
This can often hinder the overall recovery time as tendons need some form of load to increase the structure strength.
This can aggravate the pain due to additional tensile stress to the tendon.
Tendon exercise tolerance needs to be gradually increased as rapid increases cause the injury to re-occur.
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