The heel or Achilles tendon is one of the strongest ligaments in the human body. It can withstand loads of up to 400 kg, but at the same time is most susceptible to injury. The Achilles tendon, together with the calf muscle, is responsible for movement in the foot. Pain in this area indicates possible inflammation or damage to the ligaments.
Inflammation occurs in middle age due to impaired elasticity and extensibility of the ligaments. More often, violations plague athletes and people engaged in heavy physical labor. The degenerative-inflammatory process is called tendinitis or tendinopathy. There are several forms of tendinopathy.
Timely treatment makes it possible to quickly restore inflamed tendons, otherwise the process can develop into a chronic one. But mechanical cracks and tears require long-term treatment and subsequent rehabilitation until the tissue is completely restored. In a chronic course, the pain gradually intensifies, the process lasting several weeks or even months.
The tendon fibers are twisted into spirals and consist of the proteins collagen and elastin. The first one is durable and practically does not stretch. Elastin, if necessary, can lengthen and return to its original state. Violation of the composition and integrity of elastic fibers causes pain and leads to tendinopathy. The main causes of the disease are as follows:
Heel pain can occur in athletes and physically trained people. This occurs when there is excessive tension in the ligaments of the foot. During prolonged exercise, tissues do not have time to recover and relax. A neglected problem can even lead to tendon rupture.
With age, the elasticity of the ligaments decreases, which leads to damage and microscopic tears of the fibers. It is especially worth paying attention if pain begins to occur when walking. The Achilles experiences constant microtrauma due to physiological characteristics of the legs, for example, the foot falling inward.
The incorrect selection of sports shoes has its impact. Why do women's feet hurt when changing from heels to low soles? In heels, during the day, the calf muscles and ligaments are in a shortened state. When changing from shoes to slippers, they have to stretch.
Why does the inflammatory process not cause severe pain for a long time? Unpleasant sensations occur with increased loads, and disappear after rest. After some time, as a result of microtraumas, scars form and the elasticity of the ligaments is impaired. Careless sudden movement can lead to tendon rupture. It is characterized by sudden severe pain, it is impossible to move the leg from heel to toe, and sometimes it is impossible to stand on your leg at all.
If the disease is not treated in time, it becomes chronic. Subsequently, pain in the heel occurs even after proper rest. The area above the heel hurts with the slightest movement. Walking on inclines and going up and down stairs becomes a real challenge.
The ligaments become denser, and pain appears in the calf muscle. Pain occurs when feeling the heel ligaments. Mobility in the ankle joint is impaired, and creaking occurs during movement. Swelling, hyperthermia and redness of the skin are observed.
It is quite difficult to treat the heel tendons; the blood supply to this area is poor. Insufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients to relieve inflammation and healing. Due to poor circulation, the healing process is complicated and delayed.
If the pain occurs for the first time, you can treat the inflammation yourself. It is enough to temporarily limit the load and apply a cold compress to the Achilles tendon. Secure the foot with an elastic bandage. To relieve inflammation, ointments and gels are used. Physiotherapeutic procedures - magnetic therapy, electrophoresis with hydrocortisone, ultrasound - have a good effect. Before treatment, consultation with a specialist is necessary.
If the cause of the disease is the physiological characteristics of the foot, high-quality orthopedic shoes will help. Help should consist of a correct assessment of pronation and subsequent correction of the foot position using orthopedic inlays.
In case of sudden severe pain, you should immediately consult a doctor. After diagnosis, the following procedures are prescribed:
Sometimes the only option is surgery.
There are a number of traditional medicine methods to relieve inflammation in the Achilles tendon. The methods should be used as an addition to the main treatment, in consultation with a doctor. A soft bump may form above the heel. Periodically, this place turns red, swells, and a feeling of heat occurs.
The main effect of the products is aimed at relieving inflammation and pain. The following composition is applied to the elastic bandage.
A cold compress with comfrey tincture will help relieve pain when walking. A tablespoon of the product is diluted in a glass of water, soaked in a bandage and a bandage is applied. Instead of comfrey, use shepherd's purse herb (a tablespoon per glass of boiling water), infused for 2 hours. Keep the bandage until it dries.
Oil rubs are useful. For the base you need a teaspoon of vegetable oil. After adding two drops of fir and lavender oils, the mixture is lightly rubbed into the area above the heel. You can use another composition: a teaspoon of vegetable oil, with the addition of 5 drops of geranium, clove and lavender oil.
Tendinitis can be treated with ointments made from pork internal fat. To 100 grams of base, add powdered calendula flowers and wormwood herbs, taken 30 grams each. The mixture is heated in a water bath and applied to the affected area in a thin layer.
The risk group includes athletes, hard working people, and women who prefer high heels. If you experience discomfort when walking, it is better to immediately seek help. It is easy to treat the disease in its early stages. But if you start the problem, complications are possible, including a chronic process.
For prevention, you need to follow some rules.
Middle-aged people need to be careful about physical activity. It is worth adding stretching exercises to your daily exercise to strengthen your calf muscles and heel tendon.
It is important to correctly assess your capabilities and distinguish between mild sprains and excessive strain. Be attentive to your body.
Man is the only animal from the class Mammals that has the ability to walk while maintaining the vertical axis of the body. This feature was formed through modifications and genetic changes over a long period of human evolution. As a result, the lower limb and spinal column were formed to support walking, standing, running, sitting and other movements, maintaining an upright position of the body. To a greater extent, the lower spine takes on the axial load, but one should not discount the important role of the structure and function of the lower limb.
A significant role in the formation of human posture is played by the correct shape of the foot and the strength of the lower leg muscles. These two anatomical formations have a close relationship. If the shape of the foot is abnormal (flat feet), the load on the knee joint changes, which causes its disease. When a deforming disorder of the knee joint occurs, the function of the spine also suffers.
To ensure the health of the entire musculoskeletal and ligamentous apparatus of the human body, it is necessary, first of all, to take care of your foot. The Achilles ligament plays a leading role in the development of an anatomically and physiologically correct foot.
Pain in the Achilles tendon brings a person not only inconvenience in moving, but also gradually leads to the formation of diseases that affect the entire human skeleton.
The Achilles ligament is located in the heel area. This is the strongest tendon in the human body, which provides attachment to the calf muscle to the heel bone, and allows the ankle joint to move, and therefore maintain upright standing, walking and running.
Achilles can get sick in a wide variety of situations. But the method of treating this organ is quite uniform and has general trends and principles. It is worth noting that every doctor faced with inflammation and pain in the Achilles tendon prescribes the necessary treatment, which is aimed at quickly restoring the function and condition of the Achilles. The patient’s task is to fulfill all the doctor’s conditions and prescriptions, which will ensure the desired result.
When contacting a specialist, who is a traumatologist, orthopedic traumatologist or orthopedic surgeon, the appearance of the lower leg is first assessed and the patient’s complaints are listened to. It is important to note that often the patient himself tells how he received the injury, which is important for making a preliminary diagnosis.
Complaints of a patient with an Achilles tendon injury:
Of course, the most important complaint that forces a person to see a doctor is pain. This is the first sign of damage to the ligament and the reason to treat it. Depending on the nature of the pain, the cause of the condition can be assumed. For example, if there is pain accompanied by crunching or cracking of the tendon, which appears when walking in heels, it is necessary to talk about weakness of the calf muscle and an unpronounced tuberosity of the heel bone, in the place where the Achilles is attached.
This unevenness develops during the constant load that the bone surface receives when walking. This condition can be treated by stretching the back of the leg and gradually increasing the load on the calf muscle.
In order to understand why the Achilles tendon hurts and find reliable causes for this condition, you need to do a series of functional tests that will show the location of inflammation. By clarifying the mechanism of injury in the patient, the degree of damage can be determined and treatment tactics can be suggested. The final treatment option in traumatology is possible only after an X-ray examination, tomography of the area that hurts, or ultrasound.
The most common causes of inflammation in the Achilles:
Achilles pain on the leg most often occurs due to injuries, which can be domestic or sports.
Domestic injuries occur due to excessive stress on an organ that is not prepared for this. And household injuries occur when work safety rules are not followed, falls, or wearing inappropriate shoes.
First of all, before treating an injury, it is necessary to diagnose the nature of the ligament damage. For this purpose, instrumental research techniques are used.
Data from common instrumental diagnostic methods for pain in the Achilles
There is no accumulation of fluid in the area of the ligament and muscle.
There are no intramuscular hematomas.
There is diffuse swelling of the tissue.
Signs of inflammation and dysfunction.
Diagnosis of Achilles tendon injuries is based not only on instrumental examination data.
Questioning and examining the patient also play an important role. Instrumental diagnostics are carried out to confirm the preliminary diagnosis.
Algorithm of action in case of Achilles injury in any situation:
Timely and correctly provided assistance can play a major role in the prognosis of the victim’s recovery. It is better to do nothing than to do something wrong and harm the person even more.
Doing self-reduction of fractures at home, smearing a limb with various medications, using traditional medicine, as well as using various techniques to correct the shape and integrity of a limb is strictly prohibited.
Treatment of the Achilles tendon depends on the degree of pain and the severity of the inflammatory process.
Locally: a lotion of drugs: hydrocortisone, analgin, dimexide. Mix medications? with water. Apply for the first three days. Anti-inflammatory ointment without a warming effect.
IM: Baralgetas 5 ml for 3 days.
After 72 hours after injury, a warm, dry compress can be used.
IM: Baralgetas 5 ml for 3 days.
The place (on intact skin) is the same. Apply green paint to damaged skin to dry it. You can apply an antifungal agent to the wounds to prevent secondary infection.
Local administration of anti-inflammatory drugs: Diclofenac 1 ml, Hydrocortisone 1 ml.
Oral antibiotics (Ceftriaxone). Vaccination against botulism (if indicated).
Inside and intramuscularly the same.
A course of physiotherapy once a year, san-kur treatment.
For diffuse, not intense pain, the Achilles tendon can be treated at home. Although to be sure, it is better to consult a specialist.
When treating pain and inflammation in the Achilles tendon area, you can use some local treatment methods:
it is necessary to tap with fingertips 5-6 times a day;
To successfully treat any tendon injury, you must follow some rules:
Pain in the tendon located above the heel often indicates the development of a disease in a person such as tendinitis (tendopathy) of the Achilles tendon. This is damage or inflammation in the tissue in the tendon area above the heel.
This pathology most often manifests itself in people over 40 years of age, which is associated with a serious increase in the extensibility of connective tissues in the body. By these years, the fabric loses its elasticity, which can lead to unpleasant consequences. Tendinitis is especially common in athletes and other people whose activities involve heavy physical exertion.
It is very important to start treating this disease in time so that it does not become chronic.
This tendon is popularly called the heel tendon. Its upper part is located at the junction of the soleus and gastrocnemius muscles, and the lower part is attached to the heel tubercle. The main job of this part of the body is to lift the heel when lifting the leg. In addition, the tendon lowers the forefoot immediately after the heel strikes the ground.
The tendon located above the heel is susceptible to injury in the following cases:
Any disturbances in the conductivity of tendon tissue lead to a serious deterioration in metabolism. In addition, it threatens the loss of water, which leads to drying of the connective tissue in the human body. As a result, the elasticity of the collagen fibers in the tendon above the heel decreases, and this entails an increase in tissue extensibility.
Medical experts often classify sports injuries caused by overload and lack of recovery between workouts as tendinitis. As a result, various connective tissue damage appears and the tendon becomes inflamed. In this case, a person has a lot of pain above the heel during any movement of the foot. You don’t have to run and jump to feel pain; severe pain will occur even with normal walking.
By the way, inflammation can occur after the body is unaccustomed to severe physical activity. Therefore, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle, do not suddenly start exercising.
The disease can occur in various forms:
Initially, a person begins to experience pain in the area above the heel during training and other physical activities. After warming up, the pain decreases significantly, and a long rest allows you to get rid of the pain altogether. Only upon palpation do unpleasant sensations arise.
The reduction in pain is due to the fact that during a break, micro-tears of the tendon disappear, but new movements contribute to their reappearance.
If tendinitis is not treated, it will progress to a chronic stage. Then the pain will not subside even after a long rest. In such cases, the tendon hurts even immediately after sleep. It is especially difficult for people with chronic inflammation when going down or up stairs or any other inclined surface.
Tendonitis may be accompanied by the following symptoms:
To determine why tendons hurt, you can use the following methods:
But most often, we can talk about a certain diagnosis after a conversation between the patient and the doctor. With the help of palpation, the doctor can easily determine why the tendons located above the heel hurt.
If you experience problems with your tendons, you should immediately seek medical help. Only a specialist can help you solve this health problem correctly. He will prescribe the necessary medications and draw up a plan for the rehabilitation of the body. By the way, with this disease, partial/complete immobilization may be necessary. In some cases, even surgical intervention is possible.
In addition, there are a number of traditional medicine methods that will allow you to forever forget about how your tendons hurt. But you can use them only after agreement with your doctor.
Be attentive to your body and at the first symptoms of tendinitis, seek help from specialists.
People leading an active lifestyle, playing sports, need to keep in mind that a rather unpleasant moment can be pain in the Achilles tendon, the cause of which is: rupture, injury, or other damage. The Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscle with the heel bone, may well be quite vulnerable during active running, walking, jumping, since loads on it lead to overstrain and, as a result, rupture or separation. Typically, tendon tissue is injured due to previous injuries or due to tension over a long period of time. Pain in the Achilles tendon most often plagues athletic people, since it is caused by severe overexertion of the legs. Most often, the disease occurs in men 30-50 years old.
Although the Achilles tendon is the strongest and thickest tendon in the human body, injury to it is not uncommon. Thanks to it, while moving, a person’s toes are raised, which allows him to fully push off from the ground. The Achilles tendon is capable of withstanding forces of 4 times the weight of the human body when walking and almost 8 times when running. Its length is about 15 cm, it was first mentioned at the end of the 17th century, when the tendon received its name from the name of a mythical character. Pain in the Achilles tendon can be a symptom of certain diseases and the causes may include the following:
A) Inflammation of the tendon, in medicine it is called tendonitis.
B) Microscopic tissue damage, tiny tears - tendinosis. They are most often the result of severe overvoltage. Some people often use these two medical terms interchangeably, but among specialists it is generally accepted that the Achilles tendon disease is painless, but tendinosis is characterized by the main symptom – pain.
B) Partial or complete rupture of the Achilles tendon. While a partial rupture may not cause particularly painful symptoms, a complete rupture brings loss of mobility of the lower leg and foot, as well as severe pain.
Many people, especially those who have encountered similar problems, mistakenly believe that problems with the Achilles tendon occur suddenly. However, in reality this is not entirely true, since all problems are the result of previous, unnoticeable, numerous damages occurring over a fairly long period of time.
So, pain in the Achilles tendon occurs most often due to overexertion, and its main causes are constant repetitive movements, for example, during training, exercise, work, etc. As an example, it is enough to mention fast running, jumping, and sudden stops during sports. A fairly common cause of Achilles tendon damage among athletes is a sudden change in the frequency, intensity, or duration of training. This is why it is so important to warm up properly before training, wear comfortable, high-quality sports shoes, and be in normal physical shape. This is especially true for middle-aged people, for whom this problem is most typical.
The main symptoms that the Achilles tendon has been damaged are swelling and pain in the lower part of the leg - the shin. In some cases, pain may occur only when running or walking, and is practically not felt at rest. In cases where the Achilles tendon has ruptured, the pain can be so severe that it becomes almost impossible to step on the leg with the damaged tendon. Treatment for Achilles tendon injuries usually involves decreased physical activity and stretching exercises (if the tendon problems are minor). To reduce pain, you can use painkillers that are available over the counter in pharmacies. If the damage is more serious, such as a tendon rupture, treatment may even involve surgery, as well as the use of some fixation devices. In order to heal an Achilles tendon injury and fully restore its function, it sometimes takes a significant amount of time, even with minor injuries. Surgical treatment is used for patients in cases of complete rupture of the tendon, with its ends sutured with synthetic threads. If the injury is recent, the operation can be performed without incisions, with the ends of the tendon sutured directly through the skin.
As a preventive measure and to protect against damage to the Achilles tendon, you should warm up normally and sufficiently before each workout (for 5-10 minutes). It is very important to keep yourself in good physical shape. To choose the best sports shoes, you should first consult with a trainer. The most dangerous sports for this tendon are running, football, basketball, tennis, etc. The likelihood of an Achilles tendon rupture increases many times over if it has been weakened by inflammation or overuse for a long time.
When playing sports, as well as when performing heavy physical work, the triceps muscles of the legs contract excessively, which leads to stretching and rupture of the Achilles tendon. A fairly common cause of this injury is an unsuccessful jump, landing on the toes, while inertia moves the body weight, thereby damaging the tendons. If microscopic trauma to the Achilles tendon tissue occurs regularly, inflammatory and degenerative changes in the tendon are possible. A similar disease is called achilles tendinitis and it often causes a decrease in a person’s performance and quality of life due to chronic pain.
Inflammation of the Achilles tendon is a fairly common disease , occurring mainly in athletes when there is a high load and overstrain of the calf muscles. The Achilles tendon is the strongest tendon in the human body. Thanks to it, the calf muscle connects to the heel bone. The Achilles tendon bears the entire weight of the body when walking, running, or performing physical exercises.
Inflammation of the Achilles tendon is dangerous because this tendon has a fairly low blood supply, which in turn leads to prolonged healing. In addition, inflammation of the Achilles tendon can lead to its rupture. This suggests that this disease cannot be ignored and its treatment should be started immediately.
Symptoms of inflammation of the Achilles tendon are usually pronounced, so this disease can hardly be ignored. Symptoms of inflammation of the Achilles tendon are as follows :
For each person, the symptoms of inflammation of the Achilles tendon will vary in intensity, which will depend on the damage itself, as well as on the individual characteristics of the body. One person will feel unbearable pain, which will lead to complete inability to move. Another will complain of discomfort, slight soreness in the Achilles tendon area during physical activity. Despite this, it is necessary to consult a specialist in order to begin the necessary treatment as early as possible and prevent the occurrence of complications.
Causes of inflammation of the Achilles tendon:
Inflammation of the Achilles tendon is not life-threatening, but if treatment for this disease is not started in time and the disease is left to take its course, the disease will continue to remind itself for a long time with unpleasant symptoms.
Treatment of inflammation of the Achilles tendon must begin with the prescription of a regimen: bed rest, complete elimination of physical activity and overstrain of the leg muscles. Creating peace will ensure a speedy recovery and elimination of inflammation. In addition, a plaster splint or tight bandaging may be necessary for better immobilization. It should be recalled that maintaining increased physical activity and playing sports with inflammation of the Achilles tendon will only aggravate the situation and lead to unwanted complications.
To treat inflammation of the Achilles tendon, drug therapy is used, among which painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs come first. Physiotherapeutic procedures are actively used. Among the physiotherapeutic procedures for the treatment of inflammation of the Achilles tendon, paraffin applications, mud, and ozokerite are widely used. In addition, it is possible to massage the affected area. If conservative therapy does not bring the expected results and the disease becomes severe, then it is necessary to resort to surgical treatment.
In our clinic, doctors use modern diagnostic methods that help make a diagnosis quickly and accurately. When contacting a specialist, he will collect the necessary medical history data, conduct an objective examination, and, using modern methods of functional diagnostics, make the correct diagnosis. After making a diagnosis, our specialists will be able to prescribe you the most effective treatment , which will be aimed at eliminating symptoms, eliminating the inflammatory lesion, and will also allow you to forget about the disease in the shortest possible time.
Treatment of inflammation of the Achilles tendon, carried out at the highest level , will be guaranteed in our clinic. Here you can get advice from experienced traumatologists. Our specialists select treatment and diagnostic methods on an individual basis. In our clinic, doctors are professionals in their field, working at the highest level, while achieving the best results and maximum success.
You may have a complication associated with an infectious process.
Tendinitis or Achilles tendonopathy is a degenerative process (inflammation or tissue damage) that occurs in the heel tendon.
In adults after 40 years of age, this pathology occurs due to a decrease in the elasticity and extensibility of connective tissue, but is more common among athletes and people whose main activities involve excessive physical exertion.
Timely consultation with a doctor allows you to quickly restore damaged tendon tissue, and lack of treatment and prevention can lead to chronic tendonitis.
The Achilles or heel tendon is one of the strongest and strongest tendons in the human body:
Climbing up and down hills, running on uneven inclines, and wearing the wrong kind of hard-soled, soft-heeled shoes place high and uneven stress on this tendon, which is why it is most likely to be injured.
Injuries where the tendon attaches to the bone are caused by overuse. A load on the tendon of the same strength and intensity in one case can lead to its successful adaptation and strengthening, and in another - reduce its strength, contributing to the occurrence of dystrophic changes. It all depends on the condition of the tissue at the time of the load.
Various disorders of tissue conductivity can lead to deterioration of metabolism and drying of connective tissue due to water loss.
Metabolic products are poorly excreted, salts accumulate - this significantly reduces the elasticity of collagen fibers and their extensibility.
The stability of the tendon when stretched deteriorates and with sudden movements various micro-tears can occur.
Similar processes occur at the age of 40 years and older.
But in athletes and people engaged in physical labor, tissue aging in tendons is accelerated by constant overload and periodic injuries at the cellular and tissue level.
Experts call tendinitis mainly sports injuries caused by increased stress and lack of normal, full recovery between workouts.
Heavy loads on a poorly stretched muscle lead to inflammation or damage to the connective tissue of the Achilles tendon - as a result, any movement of the foot (running, walking, jumping) causes severe pain.
In the absence of adequate measures, the tendon may separate from the heel bone or rupture.
The occurrence of damage to the Achilles tendon indicates a heavy load that was undertaken due to a sedentary lifestyle without prior preparation, or a violation of the training regimen and overload.
The damage can be mechanical in nature without the onset of an inflammatory process, but in some cases, tendinitis is associated specifically with inflammation.
Tissue with micro-tears and cracks heals over time, but becomes less elastic with numerous microscopic scars.
Treatment of inflammation in the tendon tissue is carried out quickly with the use of anti-inflammatory drugs, and mechanical damage requires long-term therapy and special training until the tissue and tendon endurance are completely restored.
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There are 3 forms of achilles tendonitis:
The beginning of treatment for each of these forms is similar.
Initially, acute pain appears and the tendon is subject to stress.
Without proper treatment, the pain may go away for a while, but then return and become chronic; in the worst case, a complete rupture of the tendon occurs.
The reasons why Achilles tendon problems occur can vary.
The tendon consists of collagen and elastin fibers: the former provide it with strength, and the latter with elongation.
Normally, the Achilles tendon is capable of stretching by 5% of its original length - this helps the leg to make springy movements, that is, the tendon performs a shock-absorbing function.
But with age, the extensibility of the tendon decreases, and stress can lead to fiber damage and micro-tears.
That is why, after 35 years, untrained people are not recommended to start any training without first warming up the muscles and warming up.
People who experience pain in the heel tendon area and those who have previously had problems with it should pay great attention to this warning.
Even professional athletes and trained people can experience heel tendon problems.
This occurs as a result of overtraining and excess tension on the tendon.
Without the necessary rest, tissues do not have time to recover and lose their ability to relax.
Very often, athletes ignore the onset of the disease.
The resulting inflammation begins to cause mild pain - this may indicate that microtears have occurred in the tissues and there is a need to temporarily stop training or weaken the exercise regime.
But for various reasons, the athlete does not do this, and advanced or even chronic inflammation and tissue damage can lead to complete rupture of the tendon.
Therefore, it is necessary to treat tendinitis in a timely manner, and the time when you can return to classes is determined by the doctor.
Overpronation of the foot is the physiological movement of the foot inwards.
In this position, the tendon experiences excessive stretching and is injured when walking and other loads.
Incorrect footwear can contribute to the development of tendinitis:
This is a kind of bone growth on the heel bone near the place where the tendon attaches - outwardly it looks like a bubble on the heel.
Because of this growth, the tendon has to stretch even more under different loads.
Photo: Haglund deformity
Depending on whether there is inflammation of the tendon bursa or whether tissue swelling develops, this growth can be either soft or hard.
The cause of the inflammatory process in the tendon can be various acute and chronic infections.
Achilles tendonitis can occur in acute or chronic form.
The acute form is characterized by a gradual increase:
The subsidence of pain after a break and aggravation when walking is explained by the fact that during a long rest all micro-tears grow together, and with a new movement they are injured again.
If left untreated, this symptom quickly causes the development of chronic tendinitis.
With chronic Achilles tendonitis, pain increases gradually over several months or weeks:
In both cases, you may also experience:
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The following examination methods are used for diagnosis:
Most often, the diagnosis is made based on a conversation with the patient and a physical examination; by palpation, the doctor determines the points of greatest localization of pain.
A characteristic feature of calcaneal tendonitis is that when moving the foot and further palpation, the pain moves slightly, as the tendon and muscles are stretched.
Particular attention is paid to inspecting for ruptures.
X-ray examination can show the presence of inflammation or degenerative changes only if there are areas of calcification.
If there are no calcifications, then radiation diagnostics will not help make a diagnosis.
MRI and ultrasound can determine whether there are ruptures and whether there is a need for surgery.
If minor pain in the heel tendon occurs once, the legs need rest.
All loads should be limited for a while. To relieve swelling and redness, you can apply ice, and to cope with pain, you should apply an elastic bandage to the painful area.
If the pain is very severe, does not go away even after rest, and intensifies with exercise, when there is a suspicion of tendon rupture, you should immediately consult a doctor.
He will conduct an examination and, if necessary, prescribe additional examination.
To treat inflammation, he can prescribe special medications, advise folk remedies and draw up a rehabilitation plan. Immobilization, partial or complete, or surgery may be required.
It is possible to treat tendinitis using traditional medicine, but the methods must be agreed upon with your doctor:
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With the help of special exercises, you can treat achilles tendinitis, restore after drug and surgical treatment, alleviate the condition of connective tissue, stretch it and reduce the load, as well as prevent this disease.
So, for tendinitis it is recommended:
Exercise to stretch the calf muscles and Achilles tendon:
Exercise to increase the strength and elasticity of the Achilles tendon:
Both of these exercises are eccentric, aimed at simultaneously stretching and tensioning the tissue and are excellent for restoring the heel tendon.
However, errors in execution can be dangerous, so initially it is advisable to conduct training under the supervision of an instructor.
When performing any exercise, you need to remember that the restoration of physical activity should occur gradually.
You should not return to sports, dancing or your usual physical activity immediately, but slowly increase the intensity.
To prevent muscles from losing strength and ligaments from losing mobility, there are various types of ground gymnastics, the exercises of which are performed in a lying or sitting position.
The first thing that needs to be ensured before starting treatment is to reduce the load on the tendon.
You can immobilize the foot in this area in different ways:
Photo: immobilizing orthosis
In most cases, this disease is treated with the following course of treatment:
After relieving pain, it is recommended to massage and begin rehabilitation and strengthening exercises.
If conservative treatment methods do not bring the desired result, then surgical intervention may be necessary.
During the operation, an incision is made and the affected areas are excised, and then the tendon is sutured; in case of Haglund's deformity, the bone growth is removed.
Fig.: surgical repair of the Achilles tendon
After the operation, the patient wears a special boot for about 6 weeks.
Over time, after 2-3 weeks, you can already step on the operated leg, and after removing the immobilizing orthosis, a course of rehabilitation is carried out for recovery, which lasts from 1 to 3 months.
For prevention purposes, it is necessary to follow certain rules:
Achilles tendonitis, a disease of athletes, people doing physically demanding work and women who prefer to wear high-heeled shoes, can be treated very effectively and easily in the early stages.
But if it is neglected, complications may arise in the form of tendon rupture or chronic inflammation.
A whole range of measures is used for treatment: special exercises, drug therapy and immobilization of the painful area in various ways.
It is impossible to carry out all these measures on your own, so if you experience pain in the Achilles tendon area, you need to seek help from a specialist.