Achilles tendinopathy is a frequent disorder that affects the Achilles tendon, which connects the lower leg muscles with the heel bone, causing pain, swelling and stiffness of the Achilles tendon. It furthermore often hinders ankle movements or lifting the foot. It is frequent among people that were very active for a long period of time, although it can really occur to anybody at any age.
It is true that this disorder is mostly suffered by those who practice sports that require fast starts and stops, as for instance basketball. It can also occur when using high heels or shoes with little or no support for the foot arch for long periods of time.
What is Achilles tendinopathy?
This injury in the hind part of the foot is caused by an excessive use of a specific muscle-tendon unit, submitting the Achilles tendon to a repetitive or intensive tension. It can be caused by inadequate footwear but also an accident while walking on irregular terrain can cause inflammation of the tendon.
And as we’ve already mentioned before, the affection is common among those practicing sports that require fast stops and starts and among runners.
Achilles tendinopathy can cause chronic pain and swelling of the tendon, which in the long run can lead to a total rupture of the tendon if the problem is not treated.
But what causes this affliction?
Contributing factors for the development of Achilles tendinopathy
Tendinopathy is developed by a combination of two types of factors: mechanical factors (over-use) and biological factors. Some of the contributing factors are:
- Training mistakes. Running too much without giving the body sufficient time to recover, increase of speed or running long distances too fast, suddenly adding strenuous climbs to your exercise routine.
- Inadequate footwear or equipment: For instance, running shoes that do not offer sufficient shock absorption..
- Muscular imbalances near the ankle joint. For instance, weak muscles on one side, compared to strong muscles on the other side.
- Bad posture when sitting down or standing up for a long period of time. For instance, slouching forward during work all day.
- Aging. Natural wear can make the heel more vulnerable to other injuries.
What are the symptoms of Achilles tendinopathy?
One of the first symptoms the patient notices is pain in the heel or the lower part of the legs, which gets worse when exercising and disappears when resting.
The Achilles heel is made of fibers that interconnect like a rope. When these fibers are damaged or inflamed due to repetitive movements (like running), they cannot function correctly, causing pain. Apart from that, other symptoms can appear, for instance:
- Palpitating pain, in general right above the heel bone and more pronounced in the morning.
- Stiffness that disappears gradually as the tendon warms up.
- Pain after activity, gradually becoming worse.
- Localized pain across the tendon when running or after running.
- Swelling around the Achilles tendon and sensitivity in the heel area when touching with your fingers or moving the heel in different directions.
- Pain in the hind part of the ankle.
- Bulging of the tendon, specifically in skinny patients.
How to treat Achilles tendinopathy with Capenergy?
The first step to treat Achilles tendinopathy is using adequate supportive footwear. Then performing physiotherapeutic exercises. If the exercises are not enough, a surgical intervention may be necessary to remove damaged tendon tissue.
Nevertheless, with Capenergy ‘s technology, you will be able to improve this condition in little time, avoiding surgery in the future.
The physiotherapeutic application of radiofrequency uses radio waves to heat the tissue, causing the dilatation of the blood vessels and increasing the circulation of oxygen and nutrients in the area. This treatment helps control pain and speeds up the healing process.
Radiofrequency is usually applied to treat chronic pain in the neck, back, shoulders, hips, knees or ankles. It can also be used to treat plantar fasciitis (pain in the heel) and Achilles tendinitis (inflammation of the tendon).
If your patients are suffering from a tendinous injury, Capenergy’s second generation radiofrequency is an efficient way to treat the symptoms during recovery. By reducing the swelling and the inflammation, the patient ‘s natural healing processes can take control of the body faster. Your patients will feel better and will sooner be able to return to their normal activities.
When suffering a tendinopathy, the body starts producing more rigid collagen than usually. This can cause small tears in the tissue surrounding the tendon, causing inflammation and pain. The increase of this type of collagen production also difficulties the self-healing process, as too much scarry tissue is generated in the injured area.
Capenergy helps recovering from tendinopathies by increasing the blood flow to the area, thusly:
- Reducing inflammation and swelling.
- Reducing recovery time as well as pain levels.
- Stimulating the production of type I and type III collagen, in order to repair the tissue damage caused by excessive use or traumatic injury.
In short, treatment with our second generation radiofrequency devices is based on a pleasant warm feeling and a 45 minute application using automatic plates and a manual massage with the capacitive and resistive manual electrodes. The device has a biofeedback system that allows choosing the most adequate frequency for each patient, assuring a safe and efficient treatment at all times.
Would you like to learn more about Capenergy ‘s tecar therapy and how to treat different pathologies? Request your free demo.