Find out why Achilles tendon inflammation occurs and what you need to do to keep them healthy at home. The Achilles tendon can suffer from a direct impact or after an unsuccessful action, such as starting or landing. If an athlete uses excessive loads or the calf and soleus muscles are poorly warmed up, then microdamages accumulate in the Achilles, which, as a result, can lead to tendon rupture. With a poor-quality warm-up, sudden movements are especially dangerous.
If you feel a sharp pain that does not go away for a long time, be sure to consult a doctor and get tested. Note that Achilles injuries often require surgical intervention. Microtrauma of the tendon is in this case the lesser evil, but they cannot be ignored. We have already said that they are often the cause of tendon rupture.
Since this is a serious injury, many athletes want to know how to keep their Achilles tendon healthy when exercising. Several groups of athletes are at high risk:
- Clear - people who suddenly realized the importance of playing sports.
- Workaholics - spend a lot of time in intellectual work, and on weekends they walk intensively to compensate for the lack of physical activity.
- Beginners - do not pay due attention to the warm-up, and this is especially true for people who decide to go jogging.
- Fans - spending all their free time in constant training, alternating strength training with cardio loads.
If you belong to one of the categories mentioned above, then you need to pay extra attention to Achilles. One of the symptoms of upcoming problems is limited foot mobility. To diagnose, you should periodically perform circular movements with your foot or rise on your toes.
How to keep your Achilles tendon healthy when exercising: prevention
Any ailment is easier to prevent than to cure. If you want to know how to maintain the health of your Achilles tendons while playing sports, then follow a few simple rules:
- Loads should increase gradually - it is better to take several short walks throughout the week than one long one.
- Choose the right sports shoes - one of the main criteria for choosing shoes, including everyday shoes, is good support for the foot.
- Stretch your feet constantly - during the working day, do not be lazy to perform circular movements, periodically get up and walk for a few minutes.
- Get enough rest - after training, the body must be given rest so that it can recover.
- It is necessary to start and end classes correctly. - Before training, it is necessary to carry out a dynamic warm-up, and after its completion, a static stretching.
Achilles tendon inflammation: symptoms and treatments
One of the most common Achilles injuries is tendon inflammation. This will be discussed now, because the information will definitely be useful to athletes who want to know how to maintain the health of the Achilles tendons while playing sports. First, however, a minimum of anatomical information. Achilles is designed to connect the calf muscle to the heel. As a result, we are able to flex the foot while walking. As mentioned above, athletes are at risk, whose activity is primarily associated with running and jumping. Doctors often call Achilles inflammation tendinitis.
Symptoms and causes of tendonitis
Let's start with the reasons for the development of this ailment, highlighting only the most important:
- Excessive stress, both directly on the Achilles, as well as the calf muscle.
- Inconvenient sports or casual shoes.
- Frequent use of high-heeled shoes.
Any inflammatory process for the body is stressful and tendonitis is no exception. If you do not take appropriate measures to treat it, then a tendon rupture is possible. In this situation, it is practically impossible to move, and surgical intervention is often used as a therapy.
It is also necessary to say about additional factors that are noted by doctors:
- Age - Most Achilles injuries occur between the ages of 30 and 50. Probably, this fact is associated with the activation of degenerative reactions in connective tissues. At this age, people still show quite high physical activity.
- Floor - according to statistics, Achilles tendon injuries are five times more common in men than in women.
- Some antibiotics - this applies primarily to drugs of the fluoroquinol group.
Let's move on to the symptoms of tendonitis and consider the most obvious:
- Strong pain along the Achilles closer to the heel of the foot.
- The appearance of swelling and the appearance of redness on the skin.
- The appearance of pain at the moment when you rise on your toes.
- Constant pain for several minutes when walking in the morning.
- Ankle mobility is limited.
Prophylaxis
Among the methods of preventing Achilles tendonitis, it should be noted:
- Stretch your leg muscles to avoid many problems.
- Particular attention should be paid to stretching the hamstrings.
- Before the start of the lesson, do a good warm-up.
- Loads should be increased gradually.
- If you feel pain in the Achilles area, stop immediately.
- Runners should pay special attention to the choice of athletic shoes.
Achilles tendonitis therapy
Let's first define the actions that you can take on your own. First of all, the injured limb must be given rest and not carry heavy objects. Use cold compresses to relieve pain and relieve redness and swelling from the skin. You should also apply an elastic bandage. But in these situations, you should definitely visit a doctor, as there is a high risk of rupture of the Achilles tendon:
- If you experience severe pain while walking.
- Under the influence of physical exertion, pain in the heel increases.
- You got the feeling that someone hit you on the back of your leg.
If you decide to seek the advice of a specialist, in fact, we recommend that you do so, then the doctor will prescribe anti-inflammatory medications and a rehabilitation program. If the situation is serious enough, but it did not come to the rupture of the tendon, then a plaster cast may be applied to the ankle to immobilize the joint.
I would like to warn you that the first stage of recovery is severe itching in the area of the gastrocnemius muscle, it is necessary to apply force so as not to actively scratch this place. To strengthen Achilles, the doctor must prescribe a set of exercises. When will the rehabilitation after the injury be completed? Do not use strong loads in training, but increase them gradually. We recommend swimming instead of running during this time.
Now let's talk in more detail about how you can cope with Achilles stretch at home. However, you should first monitor your well-being. If during movement the pain intensifies and becomes acute or darkens in the eyes, then it is worth contacting a specialist. The same should be done for acute pain while walking.
If during the examination the Achilles rupture was not diagnosed, then you can return home. Treat a tendon. It is quite obvious that in such a situation you have to stop playing sports. You will set records after full recovery. If the damage is not completely healed, but you start exercising, the consequences can be dire.
First of all, we recommend that you attach a mass made from the juice of aloe leaves to the Achilles. This will help get rid of the swelling and bruising faster. The next step in the treatment will be a compress. It is necessary to attach a cabbage leaf to the leg, strengthening it with an elastic bandage. After that, wrap the injured limb with a warm scarf. Try to walk less to avoid worsening the injury.
Another effective treatment for Achilles sprain is a cold potato mask. You will need to peel the tubers and cut them into small rings. Then apply the mask to the affected leg. Soak the potatoes for 20 or 30 minutes. Then the mass can be removed. As a result, you will be able to normalize blood flow. A contrast shower is an excellent means of achieving this, but you should limit your physical activity.
If you can still move, then try to hold onto the objects around you. Introduce more dairy products into your diet, as they are an excellent source of calcium. This micronutrient helps to strengthen not only bone tissue, but also tendons. To recuperate, we recommend using goat's milk with honey twice a day. In the evening, it is worth making compresses from pharmacy balms and ointments. The most famous are Fastum Gel and Troxevasin. They not only relieve pain, but also accelerate the regeneration of damaged tissues.
You should not ignore such a well-known folk remedy as plantain. Gruel should be prepared from the leaves of this plant and applied to the injured limb. Remember, until the injury is completely healed, massage is contraindicated for you. In conclusion, let's say a few words about conservative therapy for ruptured Achilles:
- Plaster longuette - a classic type of therapy that minimizes the mobility of the injured ankle. Most often, it is enough to wear a splint for six weeks to recover.
- Plastic (polymer) gypsum - in comparison with conventional plaster, it is a more convenient way for the patient to restrict limb mobility.
- Orthosis - looks like a small boot that can be adjusted to suit any patient.
Doctors try first of all to use conservative treatment and resort to surgical intervention as a last resort. However, sometimes you cannot do without an operation. Most often, an open operation is performed, due to which the surgeon is able to sew the ends of the Achilles well. Once again, I would like to remind athletes who want to know how to maintain the health of the Achilles tendons when playing sports, the best way to prevent this is a high-quality warm-up. However, if the loads turned out to be excessive, then the risk of injury to Achilles increases significantly. If you have problems, we recommend that you see a doctor so as not to aggravate the situation.
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