Every time you walk or move your heel bone, you feel it. The painful, sharp sensation makes every movement an unwelcoming experience. You may have injured your tendon following a sports activity or poor training methods. It could have been old age or a medical condition that caused it. The pain is all the same, and you seek relief from it. There is a way to ease the pain using Achilles tendinitis treatments. While Achilles tendon ruptures are a top tendon rupture in the US, there are a variety of solutions to relieve uncomfortable symptoms. Take a look at which treatment options will work best for you.
Eccentric Training
Be sure to move and stretch your muscles from time to time as part of physical therapy. If there is one thing you have to keep in mind, it’s to remember not to overdo it. Less is more as excess activity can ignite and worsen symptoms.
Many clinics offer eccentric training as a method to promote healing and gain strength. If the tendon and surrounding muscles don’t work enough, muscle atrophy can occur. Preventing this complication is important because the appearance will exacerbate symptoms.
When you work with weights, slowly release it down after raising it. Over a span of 6-12 weeks, you will begin “progressive tendon overload.” During exercise, you can expect to feel pain. At the end of the program, you can expect to have added thickness of the tendon and reduce overall pain.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods and Medication
Pain relief for Achilles tendonitis comes for those who understand what the condition is. The medical term “-itis” is used to identify inflammatory conditions. When you have inflammation, you may experience one or all five signs, such as pain and redness.
Your body puts great effort into lowering and eliminate inflammation when it comes. However, in conditions like Achilles tendonitis, the pain comes and goes, whether acute or chronic. The sensation of pain can be dulled by including anti-inflammatory foods in your diet like dark, leafy greens.
You can also take OTC medications like Aleve or Ibuprofen to prevent pain episodes. Your doctor may even prescribe stronger medication in cases where alternative methods didn’t help.
Shockwave Therapy
You can ease pain by visiting a clinic to get shockwave therapy. Quality clinics will offer the best devices as a non-surgical way to treat pain. It works by using a unique set of acoustic pressure waves that are sent to the body.
The signaling is primarily delivered to sites of pain. The sound waves sent to the tissue induce dilation of the vessels. This increases blood flow and helps with muscle spasms.
Shockwave therapy is often performed in the capable hands of a healthcare provider. However, there are machines built safe to use shockwave therapy at home too.
If you find relief with shockwave therapy and use it regularly, self-treatment makes sense. The PhysioLITE ultrasound device is affordable, small, compact, and easy to use.
Topical Glyceryl Trinitrate
Another option is to apply a topical glyceryl trinitrate to the area. You can only get this at a clinic by visiting a doctor. If you plan to use it long-term, the patch form is ideal.
The ointment is preferable for those who find they only need to use the product sparingly.
The ointment or patch delivers potent actives to improve pain score and retain your range of motion. It works best as an adjunct therapy with eccentric exercise.
Corticosteroid Injections
Corticosteroid injections (CSI) are ideal if you are dealing with short term pain related to Achilles tendonitis. CSI can improve walking pain by reducing levels of inflammation. A doctor may inject the steroid into the blood, spine, muscle, or joint.
Keep in mind, it will take several days for the effects to kick in, but some find relief in a few hours. The body eventually metabolizes it entirely after a few months. You can maintain it by getting another injection at least six weeks apart.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections
Platelet-rich plasma therapy, also known as PRP, is a type of regenerative medicine. It assists the body by amplifying its natural ability to heal tissue. Typically, your own platelets are used to speed the healing of Achilles tendonitis. After extraction, your platelets are injected into the tendon.
Platelets are high in growth factors like epidermal growth factor (EFG) and insulin growth factor (IGF). Vascular cell division, capillary growth, and collagen synthesis are stimulated.
As healing occurs, you will also experience a reduction in pain and an increase in overall function and movement. A typical injection involves the use of local anesthesia and doesn’t take any more than an hour. An ultrasound machine is ideal for helping professionals locate the damaged tendon.
Achilles Tendon Surgery
Surgical pain treatment is the last resort for most due to invasiveness and cost. If you exhausted all your options and still experience bouts of pain, it is time to consider surgery. Your doctor may also recommend it in the event your tendon is completely ruptured.
At the time of surgery, a surgeon will create an incision on the back of the leg to start repairing the injury. There are usually two routes types of surgeries, and your doctor will complete one of them.
The first one is open surgery, where a single large cut is made at the back of the ankle. The other is percutaneous surgery. The tendon is repaired from the creation of several tiny openings around the ankle instead.
You are placed in a cast or walking boot for the next 2-3 months. During that time, you can slowly resume physical activity. Complete recovery takes about six months.
Achilles Tendinitis Treatments For Pain
If you are lucky, a single treatment option may be effective for you. Most people find they are able to control or eliminate pain when they combine a few options. Finding Achilles tendinitis treatments that work for you will involve a bit of homework.
You may be completely comfortable with a professional there to help you. You might trust the use of a device or a product. If you are seeking quality pain management at an affordable price, contact us to help.
Our company offers shockwave products anyone can use at home or in a clinical setting.