When you are in pain, understanding what will help is paramount. Achilles Tendonitis pain can be relieved with physical therapy… let’s look at how!
The achilles tendon is the strongest and thickest tendon in the body. It can withstand 4 times your body weight when walking and twice that when running. It gets injured from overuse.
Related Post: What Is Achilles Tendonitis?
The injuries aren’t usually due to inflammation
Instead the most common injuries are Achilles Tendinosis and achilles tendon rupture. Tendinosis, soreness and stiffness in the achilles are what happens from overuse. Partial and full achilles tendon ruptures usually occur when engaging in sports that require sudden bursts of movement, such as sprinting.
Physical therapy
These injuries won’t just go away. They need treatment. One of the best ways to treat these injuries is physical therapy. Acute achilles tendonitis usually needs rest from activity, ice, some external support like a heel lift or CAM walker to decrease tendon pain.
Physical therapy starts with the RICE formula (rest, ice, compression and elevation), but later includes specific exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles and prevent further injury.
The most important thing is that if you have problems with your achilles tendon, you get treatment. It won’t go away on its own.
If you think you may have hurt your Achilles Tendon, schedule a free pain evaluation to find out how physical therapy can help!