ACHILLES TENDINOPATHY This is a condition characterised by pain and swelling in and around your Achilles Tendon. CAUSES: Its an overuse injury caused by repetitive and excessive stress and very common in basketball, netball, football, volleyball and running. It is more common in middle-aged people and is linked with the degeneration of the tendon fibres. You can aggregate the problem with bad footwear, a sudden change in your training and also through lack of an effective warm up. SYMPTOMS: The main symptom is pain which can be anything from mild to intense! It may also be accompanied by swelling and/or thickening in the tendon. The type of pain and when it strikes varies; it may come when youre active or at rest. You may also experience stiffness in the morning when you wake up. RISKS: If you leave it untreated then youre risking further injury and degeneration of the tendon. This can lead to small tears which can lead to a partial or complete rupture of your Achilles Tendon. RECOVERY: At best, it can take a good couple of weeks to recover but with prompt and appropriate treatment such as a Sports Massage, theres a very good chance that youll avoid surgery or suffer long-term problems. Remember if youre symptoms improve by themselves, the injury has not gone away and theres a high risk of you suffering Tendinopathy in the future.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 10:24:24 +0000