What is Achilles tendinitis?
Achilles tendonitis is an overuse injury, usually microtears, of the tendon at the back of your heel. This leads to inflammation and swelling of the tendon.
The Achilles tendon attaches a few of your calf muscles to your heel bone and helps you walk, jump, and participate in activities and sports. Achilles tendonitis usually occurs in athletes or active people who have to jump and run frequently (basketball, tennis, football, volleyball).
What causes it?
Achilles tendonitis is mainly an overuse injury. A person who experiences this is performing too much activity, like running and jumping, and is progressing to more strenuous activity too quickly. The tendon is not properly conditioned for this activity and starts to improperly function and cause pain.
Fluoroquinolone antibiotic use (ciprofloxacin) can contribute to achilles tendonitis.
Achilles tendonitis is different from an achilles tendon rupture, which occurs suddenly and urgent treatment is needed. A rupture usually occurs when trying to push off of your foot forcibly when it is behind your body and your calf is fully stretched.
What are the symptoms of Achilles tendonitis?
Common symptoms of Achilles tendonitis include:
- Sharp, pulling, sore, or aching pain or tightness at the back of the heel or ankle
- Pain with walking, jumping, or running
- Weakness with jumping or running
- Pain with stretching your calf muscles
- Painful to touch or pain from shoes rubbing
Tips to prevent Achilles tendonitis
Since your Achilles tendon is a thick cord of connective tissue, it can take some time for it to recover from injuries or other conditions. It can be much easier to try and prevent Achilles tendonitis than it can be to manage it.
So what can you do to prevent this injury and keep your body moving pain free?
- Perform prehabilitative exercises or exercises to keep healthy muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints, and not just exercises after pain has already started.
- When starting a new sport or exercise “start low and go slowly” – do not try to run a marathon without training for months in advance
- Heel/calf raises are an important prehab. exercise and should be performed correctly, including fully stretching your calf muscles and achilles tendon with proper form.
- Always warm up before an activity/sport and perform static stretching after the activity/sport
- Wear proper footwear that is not too old or worn.
What are some other treatments for Achilles tendonitis?
If you still experience Achilles tendonitis despite your best preventative efforts, don’t worry. There are several nonsurgical treatment options that can provide adequate pain relief such as:
- Rest while possibly using a walking boot or heel lift to promote healing
- Strengthening exercises for not just your gastrocnemius and soleus muscles, but for your entire leg
- Various injections, including trigger point injections and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections to improve fascia/muscle/tendon function and promote healing.
- Nitroglycerin patches to increase blood flow and promote healing