Health Alert 188
A new patient, Chris R. carefully pulled the strap down on her sandal to show me the problem. The back of her heel was red, swollen and warm to touch. I lightly pressed on her Achilles tendon with the usual doctor’s question, “Does this hurt?” When she recovered from the pain, she told me she was a distance runner and now had to stop.
She was suffering from one of the most painful conditions runners face: Achilles tendonitis. It will bring a seasoned runner to a complete stop. But even if you’re not a runner, you may also be a victim of this common overuse injury.
Any prolonged repetitive motion can cause your Achilles to become tender and inflamed. Whether you’re a tennis player, dancer, or weekend warrior, you may be placing undue stress on your Achilles tendon…and that can be asking for trouble down the road.
Today, I want to give you some tips that will help you to avoid this common ailment. And if you already suffer from its debilitating pain, I’ll explain how you can treat it and still continue to incorporate the valuable benefits of exercise into your daily lifestyle.
*Your Achilles Heel*
According to the Greek myth, Achilles was invincible except for one vulnerability, his heel. This legend gives the tendon connecting your calf muscles to your heel bone its name. It is your largest and most frequently ruptured tendon in both professional and weekend athletes. 1
Long distance runners are highly susceptible to this condition because the pounding on the heel puts excess stress on the Achilles tendon where it attaches to the top of the heel bone. Dancers and football, baseball and tennis players are also vulnerable.2
You can also tear or rupture your Achilles tendon. This injury put Dan Marino on the sidelines for a season. However, although not as dramatic, tendonitis is much more common. It is usually not caused all at once but gradually. Repetitive micro trauma from overuse is the most common cause of Achilles tendonitis.
At first, you’ll only feel slight discomfort immediately after exercise over the back of your heel where the Achilles tendon inserts on the heel bone. If the trauma is repeated, the Achilles becomes irritated and inflamed, causing pain and swelling. 3 Now you’ll experience the most pain after first walking in the morning and when getting up after sitting for long periods of time.
This is one reason why I don’t recommend routine long-distance running. It’s not natural to repeat the same movement thousands of times over. It promotes overuse injuries such as Achilles tendonitis.
*Alternatives Exercises*
If your Achilles becomes inflamed, try these tips:
• Stop running. Reduce stress to the injured tendon immediately for at least two weeks.
• Use a specifically designed bandage to restrict the motion of the tendon (you’ll find a couple at www.mvp.com and www.fogdogsports.com.
• Strengthen the opposite muscles in front of the leg by upward flexing the foot.
• If necessary, take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as aspirin or ibuprofen (Motrin).
• Apply ice to the Achilles (10 minutes every 2 hours.)
• Restart exercising slowly to increase stamina and flexibility.
• Incorporate rests into your exercise program.
If you ignore the symptoms, it can advance to “tendonosis,” a condition where the tendon becomes chronically inflamed and can make even walking virtually impossible.
To prevent overuse injuries, do a variety of exercises. However, if your Achilles tendon is inflamed, temporarily decrease all strenuous physical activities. Low-impact exercises such as swimming, bicycling, elliptical machines, tai chi, yoga, and non-impact martial arts are excellent alternatives.
Al Sears, M.D.
Sources:
(1) http://orthoinfo.asso.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=124&topcategory=Foot
(2) http://www.podiatrychannel.com/
(3) http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/ankleproblems/a/achilles.htm