The ability of the feet to bend during walking, lifting "on the socks" is due to the functions of the Achilles tendon, which attaches the calf muscle to the calcaneus. Inflammatory processes in this area are caused by overexertion or physical overload. Tendonitis of the Achilles tendon also often affects women because of wearing very high-heeled shoes.
What is tendonitis and tendon inflammation?
As a result of intensive sports training, age changes, wearing uncomfortable shoes and flat feet , microscopic ruptures of the tendon tissues are formed. After their healing, normal cells are replaced with cicatricial, and with repeated damage, an inflammatory process occurs.
The main symptoms of tendonitis Achilles tendon are pain, swelling and hyperemia of the skin in the area above the heel (2-4 cm) from behind. There are also unpleasant sensations during palpation, discomfort during walking. The late stages of disease progression are characterized by the presence of a dense neoplasm, similar to a nodule, just above the calcaneus.
How to treat tendonitis tendon?
If the pathology is at an early stage of development and the acute form is diagnosed, the treatment of tendonitis of the Achilles tendon is quite simple and symptomatic: any intensive stresses on the leg area under consideration are excluded; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed (for pain relief). In the future, the individual chooses an individual set of procedures for curative gymnastics, aimed at strengthening the muscles, ligaments, increasing their elasticity.
Treatment of tendonitis Achilles tendon in chronic and severe forms suggests, in addition to the above activities:
- fixation of the ankle joint by a medical bandage or plaster bandage;
- massage sessions;
- Physiotherapy to further reduce pain;
- wearing special orthopedic shoes to maximize unload the tendon;
- taping (gluing on the affected area with a sports adhesive tape called a teip).
After alleviating the condition and stopping the inflammatory process, therapeutic exercises and stretching (a set of stretching exercises) are applied.
If the conservative method of therapy did not help, surgical treatment is prescribed, presupposing excision of the scar tissue of the tendon.