An Achilles tendonitis injury is prevalent among athletes and soccer players. It happens over 250,000 times each year in the United States alone. It can have a long recovery time if you don’t treat it right.
Fortunately, there is a way to relieve your pain. Even if you have calcification or a bone spur in your Achilles tendon, your pain can disappear. But more about that later.
First, I’ll tell you what the Achilles tendon is, what its function is, and how you can stretch your Achilles tendon to relieve your pain fast.
I’ll describe all the stretching exercises in detail, including videos. This way, you’ll be sure that you are performing them correctly. I’ll also explain the other treatment options you have for treating your Achilles tendonitis injury.
If you’re looking for fast pain relief, you can buy this anti-inflammatory cream right here. That way, you feel less pain, and it will be easier to perform the exercises to get better.
So let’s start right now.
Today you will learn:
Achilles tendonitis cause
The Achilles tendon is the tendon that connects your calf muscles with the heel bone in your foot. It’s by far the strongest tendon in your body and almost impossible to tear.
The Achilles tendon’s function is to transfer the forces produced by your calf muscle to your foot. It doesn’t apply any power by itself. The central movement it assists is the plantar flexion of your foot. Plantar flexion is the movement where you push your foot towards the ground.
That means that every time you stand on your toes, for example, during walking, your calf muscles contract to pull on your Achilles tendon.
When everything in your lower leg and foot works correctly, this is not a problem. Your Achilles tendon is strong enough to withstand these forces. But when the power is too high, due to an accident, overuse, or any other cause, your Achilles tendon can start to get damaged and irritated. Now you’ve developed Achilles tendonitis.
Also read: Calf muscle pain treatment with 3 exercises for fast relief
Achilles tendonitis symptoms
Achilles tendonitis is an inflammatory process that produces specific symptoms.
- Swelling
- Redness
- Pain
- Reduced mobility
- heat
You can see that your Achilles tendon is swollen and painfully with touch. It often shows a slight redness and can feel warm.
Sometimes you can feel a hard piece within the Achilles tendon. It can be a calcification that sits inside your Achilles tendon.
Also read: Plantar fasciitis treatment with 4 exercises for fast relief
Achilles tendonitis treatment with 4 stretching exercises
So when you have confirmed that you suffer from Achilles tendonitis, it’s time to start your treatment right away. The first thing you should do is reduce your activities as much as possible.
That means no running for a few weeks and walk as little as possible. Bike riding, however, is not a problem.
Also, wearing proper shoes, like hiking shoes, can help a great deal. The shoes you shouldn’t wear are high heels, sandals or flip-flops. They don’t provide proper support and won’t reduce the overuse of your Achilles tendon.
Along with rest, we have to cure the causes of your Achilles tendonitis, as discussed earlier.
The treatment focuses on removing the possible causes of your Achilles tendonitis.
That’s why the treatment consists of two stretching exercises, one mobility exercise, and one strength exercise. These are all exercises you can do at home without any equipment.
Also, apply some anti-inflammatory creme to reduce your pain and swelling.
You can also wear a night splint to stretch your Achilles tendon during the night. The relaxation of your Achilles tendon will make it easier to start in the morning and will help your recovery. I would recommend a night splint because it puts a significant amount of pressure while letting you sleep comfortably.
When this home treatment doesn’t work for you, I’ll also discuss all the other options you have to cure this pain.
But first, I’ll start with the stretching exercises:
Achilles tendonitis stretching exercise 1: Achilles tendon stretches
The first Achilles tendonitis stretching exercise is designed to stretch your Achilles tendon. By stretching your Achilles tendon, you can reduce the pressure applied to your Achilles tendon. Reducing the stress will give it rest and the possibility to recover.
Perform the exercise the following way:
- Stand with your two feed in a straight line with your painful Achilles tendon behind
- Make sure your feet are pointing forward
- Now bend the knee of your painful side and place your entire weight on it
- Now you should feel the stretch in your Achilles tendon
- Hold this for 15 seconds
Repeat this exercise several times a day.
You can find the exercise also in this YouTube video. This way you know how to perform it correctly.
Achilles tendonitis stretching exercise 2: Calf muscle stretch
The second tendonitis stretching exercise is designed to stretch your calf muscle. As you know by now, your calf muscle influences your Achilles tendon. By increasing its size, you’ll reduce the forces it applies to your Achilles tendon.
Perform the exercise the following way:
- Stand in the same position as during the first exercise.
- Now extend the knee of your painful side and bend the other one
- Move your hips forward with your knee still extended and your heel on the ground
- You should feel the stretch in your calf muscle
- Hold this for 15 seconds
You can find the exercise also in this YouTube video. This way you know how to perform it correctly.
Repeat this exercise several times a day.
Achilles tendonitis stretching exercise 3: Increase the mobility of your ankle
Together with stretching your Achilles tendon and calf muscles, you can reduce the pressure on your Achilles tendon even further by increasing the movement of your ankle.
That’s what we will do with this next exercise.
Perform the exercise the following way:
- Stand on the toes of your painful foot
- Now make circles with your ankle while keeping your toes on the same place
- Make the circles as big as possible
- Now do the same the other way around
- Repeat it for two minutes for each direction
You can find the exercise also in this YouTube video. This way you know how to perform it correctly.
Repeat this exercise several times a day.
Achilles tendonitis stretching exercise 4: Increase the strength of your Achilles tendon and calf muscle
When the tension on your Achilles tendon reduces through these exercises, and the pain reduces, it’s time to start training.
By training the strength of your Achilles tendon and calf muscle you will support the healing process, which will reduce your recovery time.
Perform the exercise the following way:
- Stand on two feet at shoulder width
- Now stand on your toes
- And slowly come down
- Repeat this ten times
You can find the training also in this YouTube video. This way you know how to perform it correctly.
It’s important not to start too soon with this exercise. If the conditions are not right yet, it will increase pain rather than reduce it. It might cause a little pain during the activity, but it shouldn’t cause more pain when you’re finished. Also, you shouldn’t feel a reaction later in the day.
This way you know your Achilles tendon is healthy enough for this exercise. Now you can slowly try to increase it. You can do this by repeating it 15 or even 20 times.
Later, when it’s going well, you can also try to perform the exercise on one leg. When you’re able to do this, you know that your Achilles tendon is almost completely healed.
With these exercises, most people will be able to recover completely within eight weeks. However, some need more help. I’ll discuss your options now.
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Other Achilles tendinitis treatment options
If these exercises didn’t work enough for you, there are a few alternatives that can help you. These options also aim to reduce the causes of your Achilles tendonitis.
Physical therapy
The first thing you should do is to visit a physical therapist nearby. He can help you through massage or Dry Needling to reduce the tension in your calf muscle. Reducing the pressure will reduce the forces on your Achilles tendon.
He can also increase the mobility of your heel bone by mobilizing it. Extra mobilization will be more effective than the exercise and sometimes necessary to loosen your ankle joint.
Shockwave therapy
When regular physical therapy also didn’t help you enough, shockwave therapy might be beneficial for you.
The purpose of shockwave therapy is to remove the calcification in your Achilles tendon. As you know, calcification can be a cause of Achilles tendonitis, but it can also be asymptomatic. However, when all options have failed so far, it’s time to address the calcification.
When the calcification is not too robust, Shockwave therapy can soften it and sometimes even crush it. This way it will fall apart and reabsorbed by your body.
The treatment is relatively painful, and no success can be guaranteed.
Achilles tendon Surgery
Your last resort should be surgery. If everything has failed so far and you’re still in substantial pain, you can consider surgery.
During the surgery, the surgeon will remove any damaged tissue, calcification or bone spurs. He will make sure that tendon is clean again after the surgery.
Unfortunately, there is no 100% guaranteed success that you will be pain-free after surgery. Also, the recovery time can take up to several months before you’ll be able to do everything you want.
Conclusion
I’ve described several treatment options for Achilles tendonitis. You should be able now to make the right decision about your best treatment options. If you still have any questions, feel free to send me an e-mail.