Achilles injury
I suffer from my Achilles tendon is a statement we often hear in practice. To remedy these complaints, there are various phases of recovery in which various exercises must be performed. By doing the right exercises, it can recover the fastest so that you are back on your feet quickly.
Phase 1 of recovery
In this phase, the goal is to start low load exercises for the achilles tendon within the pain limits.
1. Knee slides in sit
Kom op de stoel zitten. Plaats de voet van het aangedane been op de handdoek. Schuif de handdoek zo ver mogelijk naar voren met de hak op de grond, schuif vervolgens de voet zo ver mogelijk naar achteren met de hak op de handdoek.
2. Actieve calf raise
Pak een stevige stoel, ga erop zitten en zorg voor een actieve houding waarbij de rug los is van de leuning. Plaats de voeten op ongeveer heupbreedte, kruis de armen voor de borst, breng de hakken zover mogelijk van de grond en laat ze vervolgens tot net boven de grond weer zakken.
3. Calf raise with resistance
Take a sturdy chair, sit down, and place your hands on your thighs. Lift your heel off the ground and apply downward pressure as you perform the movement.
4. Seated Soleus stretch
Sit on a chair. Place the towel around your foot at the level of the toes. Make sure you are sitting near the edge of the chair so that your leg is extended with the knee straight and your heel resting on the floor. Using the towel, pull your toes towards you while keeping your heel on the floor.
5. Standing gastrocnemius stretch
Place one leg well behind the other. Shift your front knee slightly forward. Ensure that both heels remain on the ground.
6. Static lunge on a step
Perform a lunge step on the step Make sure to land on your toes when executing the lunge.
Phase 2 of recovery
In this phase, the goal is to strengthen the tendon and muscles through exercises. It is important to gradually build up the load on the achilles tendon.
1. Donkey calf raise
Assume a forward stance and place your feet hip-width apart. Then, rise onto your toes.
2. Two-leg calf raise
Stand with both feet on the ground. Rise onto your toes using both feet simultaneously. Then, slowly lower yourself back down until your feet are flat on the ground again. Repeat this movement.
3. Eccentric calf raise on a step
Stand with both feet on the edge of the step. Make sure your heels are hanging off the edge. Rise up onto your toes with both feet simultaneously. Then, slowly lower yourself back down until your feet are level with the step again. Repeat this movement.
4. Single-leg eccentric calf raise on a step
Stand with both feet on the edge of the step. Make sure your heels are off the step. Rise onto your toes with both feet simultaneously. Lift one leg off the step so that you are balancing on the other. Then, slowly lower yourself back down until your foot is level with the step again. Finally, place your other foot back onto the step.
5. Calf Raise in squat position
Place your hands on your hips and squat down. Now, perform a calf raise while remaining in the squat position.
6. Standing Calf raise behind a box
Place one leg on the box. Keep the other leg straight and rise onto the toes of that foot. Slowly lower the heel back to the ground.
7. Calf raise on one leg
Stand with one foot on the ground. Rise up onto the ball of that foot. Then, slowly lower yourself back down until your foot is flat on the ground again.
8. Lunge on step with weights
Take a long step onto the step. Hold a weight under your leg to increase the difficulty, as shown in the video.
Phase 3 of recovery
During this phase, the goal is to build up to sports activities.
1. Double leg Hopping
Place both feet shoulder-width apart. Explosively rise onto your toes and lower yourself back down in a controlled manner.
2. Standing one legged hop
Stand on one leg. Rise explosively onto your toes and lower yourself back down in a controlled manner.
3. Lunge hop with rotation
Stand on the step with a stick across the back of your neck and place a cone about half a meter in front of the step. Now, step past the cone with one leg and then bring your feet together at the cone, as shown in the video. As you take the final step, rotate your torso toward the same side as the leg that is on the ground.
4. Two-footed jump rope
Touwtjespringen met 2 benen
5. Single-leg jump rope
Touwtje springen op 1 been.
Plyo box
Hard. Compact. Qualitatively.
Step
Hard. Compact. Qualitatively.
The meaning of a achilles tendon injury
The achilles tendon is the tendon that attaches the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus muscles) to the back of the heel. It has an important function in providing stability to the back of the ankle during movement. It also allows us to walk and stand on our toes making it essential in activities like walking, running or climbing stairs.
The causes of a achilles tendon injury
There are various ways to injure your achilles tendon. An overuse injury can cause swelling and deterioration in tendon quality (tendinopathy) leading to pain and reduced load capacity. After prolonged overuse, small arteries start to infiltrate the achilles tendon (neovascularization), making it more sensitive and therefore causing more pain.
Beside deterioration in tendon quality, the achilles can become inflamed. This can be caused by an increased load (overuse) or due to a reduction in load capacity. The inflammation tends to cause pain and swelling in the achilles tendon or at the insertion point at the back of the heel.
An acute traumatic moment can cause an achilles tear or rupture. This can be very painful and care should be taken to treat it correctly in order to avoid irreversible impairment of function.
The symptoms of a achilles tendon injury
An achilles injury can cause pain from the middle of the calf down to the back of the heel. During the morning and at rest it tends to ache, changing to a more intense stabbing pain during activities. Walking, climbing stairs, standing on your toes, running and cycling often aggravate the symptoms. It comes as no surprise that achilles injuries occur most often in athletes and people wearing high heels.
The treatment of a achilles tendon injury
To start your recovery it is important to begin with exercises. Ideally you do these three times a day. You don’t have to do many exercises, but it is important to do the exercise long enough that you feel a burning feeling in the muscle (muscle fatigue). By doing this you’ll improve the quality of the achilles tendon ensuring the fastest possible recovery.
The level of exercise you can start with depends on the level of injury. If the achilles is very painful, simple movement exercises are sufficient to stimulate blood flow. Once the pain subsides bipedal exercises can be started in a sitting or standing position. If this is going well you can progress to doing these on an incline. Provided the achilles tendon doesn’t hurt, the next progression is to do single leg exercises on flat ground. These pain free, gradual increases in load will strengthen the achilles tendon over time.
The duration of the recovery from an achilles tendon injury varies widely. It ranges from 6 weeks to a year but typically takes 6 to 12 weeks until you’re fully recovered.
Did you know?
Exercising reduced the swelling in the tendon. This will reduce the sensitivity and allow you to start doing more without pain. It is important to keep the load capacity in mind to avoid overuse.
Synonyms
Achilles pain, heel pain, calf pain, achilles tendinopathy, torn achilles tendon, inflamed achilles tendon, achilles tendon overuse
Advice
If you have any questions regarding the exercises, doubt if you are doing them correctly or aren’t sure they are suited for your condition, please contact your physiotherapist for support.
Attention:
Yourbody.coach offers a range of exercises. Yourbody.coach can not be held responsible if you develop injuries. Always consult your physiotherapist or specialist.