Achilles Tendonitis

Achilles tendonitis (also spelled "tendinitis" or called "tendinosis") is a debilitating, painful inflammation of the Achilles tendon - the largest and strongest tendon in the body - which is a cordlike prominence at the back of the heel rising up toward the calf. Symptoms include an extremely piercing pain, a shooting or burning pain at the back area of the heel. The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscle of the leg to the heel bone. The degree of injury ranges from an irritated tendon to a tear or even a complete rupture of the tendon. Achilles tendonitis can be very painful and slow to heal, preventing you from exercising and doing everyday activities.

Achilles tendonitis is a serious injury and it can prevent you from doing the things you love. There are many ways to get Achilles tendonitis/ rupture your Achilles tendon, such as:

• Overstressing your tendon
• Doing fitness training in poor conditions
• Wearing poor fitting shoes
• Improper conditioning
• Overpronation - when you roll your foot inward too much when you walk or run. This may be due to having high arches
• Having tight tendons/muscles - you may have tight hamstring/calf muscles, which may mean your Achilles tendon may be tight and thick as well
• Bony growths around your heel (caused by arthritis), which can irritate your Achilles tendon
• Flat foot arches - this can cause extra stress on your Achilles tendon
• Infection - in certain cases

Tendons are similar to elastic bands, in that they stretch. If your Achilles tendon is injured and you continue to strain it through exercise, rigid and solid scar tissue will replace the tendon's elasticity. This will cause the tendon to ALWAYS hurt, during ANY exercise. This condition is essentially incurable, so if you're suffering from Achilles tendonitis, it's important to treat it and heal as fast as possible.

The trick to any tendon injury is getting it to heal with minimal scar tissue formation and with as much realignment of tendon fibres as possible - something radiant energy and ultrasound therapies are great for! Even with optimum healing, there is always less elasticity in a previously injured tendon. The trick is to make sure you heal your Achilles tendonitis the best you can. That way, your chance of reinjury later on is much lower than average - which otherwise is well over 50%.

Interesting facts about Achilles Tendonitis:

The name "Achilles tendon" derives from the story of the ancient Greek hero, Achilles. According to legend, as a baby he was dipped in the river Styx by his mother, the goddess Thetis, causing him to become (supposedly) immortal and invincible. This was proved to be untrue during the Trojan War, where Achilles (by then a grown man and the mightiest Greek warrior) was killed by a single arrow, which pierced his heel. This was due to the fact that Thetis had held that particular ankle while dipping him in the Styx, causing that spot to be the only "mortal" place on his body. Thus, the terms "Achilles tendon" and "Achilles heel" derive from this story.