Our greatest weakness…

Most people will only experience minor sport-related injuries in their lifetime, such as cuts and grazes or blisters. For some of us, tendinopathy can result from overexertion, especially for more professional athletes due to the intense nature of their training.

We’ve talked about the shoulder last week, so in this blog we’ll tackle our biggest weakness of all: the Achilles tendon.

Pain can occur in the foot and ankles for a number of reasons. The foot and ankle is made up of a number of small bones interconnected by ligaments, muscles and fascia all working together to give the strength, stability and flexibility the foot and ankle needs to function properly.

Common conditions of the foot, ankle and areas which can give rise to pain include:

Achilles pain – the Achilles tendon is formed by the tendon of the two calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus coming together and attaching onto the bone at the back of the heel called the calcaneus. Pain, inflammation or tendonitis in the Achilles can cause pain and tightness in this area.

Acquired flat foot – when the inner side of the foot or inner arch flattens. The foot may roll over to the inner side (known as over-pronation). It is often apparent if the heels of shoes wear out quickly and unevenly. Over-pronation can damage your ankle joint and Achilles tendon and can also cause shin pain. Symptoms can include, pain, swelling, change in foot shape and knee pain or swelling.

Plantar fasciitis – is pain and inflammation in the plantar fascia, the tough fibrous band of tissue that supports the arches of the foot and runs under the small bones from the underside of the heel and sole towards the toes. Often people who have plantar fasciitis describe it as a sharp pain, most often under the heel or instep of the foot and tends to be made worse by standing for long periods of time in poor footwear. Sufferers commonly mention that it is worse when standing after being off their feet for a long time, and it can hurt more putting the foot on the floor first thing in the morning. The sole of the foot can occasionally feel a little numb, tingly or swell slightly.

Sprained ankle – typically the result of a sudden twisting or ‘going over’ on the ankle joint, and more commonly, it is the ligaments on the outside of the ankle that are strained. Typical symptoms are swelling, bruising, pain and instability of the ankle.

So how can an osteopath help?

First off, we always advise people with acute pain to rely on rest, ice and anti-inflammtories, in order to reduce inflammation and allow for healing.

If that doesn’t work, depending on the diagnosis and your age and fitness, we can use a variety of gentle massage and manipulative techniques to increase the mobility of the joints and the flexibility of the muscles in the foot.

We will often look at muscles and joints in the lower limb, the knee, hip and lower back and may treat any joint restrictions and muscle tightness we find there. Often improving the movement in the joints of the lower will help the foot and ankle function better. We will advise exercises to assist with healing. For some the basic steps do not work. Then if suitable, shockwave therapy is suitable for the chronic tendon sufferers and has been shown to have an 80% success rate in chronic Achilles tendinopathy and plantar fasciitis.

From tennis elbow to Achilles tendon damage, our osteopaths can diagnose, treat and rehabilitate a wide array of injuries. Remember, osteopathy isn't just for backs!

On that note, we hope you enjoyed our mini series of blogs on tendon injuries, and hopefully you learned a useful thing or two. We’d love to hear your thoughts on how helpful you’ve found this more in-depth series, and if you’d like for us to do something similar on another topic. We always love hearing our readers’ feedback!

As always, if you have any questions about Achilles tendinopathy or any other tendon-related injuries, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 01722 512 043.