ACHILLES

 

De-adhere Achilles Area

increasing tightness & thickness make eventual injury certain.

 

Problem:

Normal daily leg activity, and especially heavy work or athletic activity, strengthens, thickens & tightens lower part of the lower leg. This includes the space between Achilles tendon & lower leg bones. This tautness constricts Achilles tendon mobility. Over time strength & tightness increase while mobility & flexibility decrease. The result is a less and less flexible Achilles tendon, evidenced by the inability to lift toes toward shin bone. In this condition any excessive strain can tear cells in Achilles tendon, resulting in inflammation, pain, and further reduction of flexibility.

       Chronic inflammation of the tendon is called tendonitis, which gradually weakens the tendon and is often accompanied by a build up of scar tissue, in many cases accumulating into a bulky mass. Scar tissue is not as strong or flexible as the tissue it replaces, and has a tendency to contract & deform surrounding tissues, further reducing flexibility. This can become a sport-career ending condition.

 

Treatment:

All tissues near Achilles tendon must be loosened & de-adhered, such that a general suppleness is restored. This makes stretching the tendon much easier, increases ankle flexibility, and reduces stress on locations suffering from tendonitis. Follow-up appointments to massage minor scar tissue away are usually needed. If a bulky mass of scar tissue exists, it can be massaged smaller and made more flexible, but usually doesn’t ever disappear completely or even significantly shrink.

 

Benefits:

  1. loosens & de-adheres tissues that restrict Achilles tendon mobility
  2. increases blood flow through lower leg & ankle
  3. restores suppleness, mobility & flexibility to lower half of lower leg
  4. increases lower leg & ankle mobility, which improves foot coordination
  5. allows injured or weakened tendon tissues to heal faster
  6. overall stress reduction allows any new injury to heal faster & better (less scar tissue buildup)
  7. significantly reduces strain on Achilles tendon.
  8. significantly reduces chances of tendonitis recurrence
  9. increases Achilles tendon ability to withstand strain & power without being injured
  10. allows Achilles tendon to gradually lengthen

 

Notes:

 

For Recent Injuries: Blood circulation through an inflamed Achilles tendon is critical to healing. Icing tendon for 10 minutes every 2 hours to reduce swelling helps improve blood circulation through inflamed tissues—which speeds healing.

 

For Chronic Tightness: De-adhering tissues around Achilles tendon significantly improves blood circulation through the area, which speeds healing of a present injury & greatly reduces chances of recurring injuries.

     Loosening & de-adhering tissues near Achilles often enables people with chronic tendonitis to return to sport participation. Younger people often make a full recover. Older people must limit their sporting activity to what their Achilles can now reasonably endure; which definitely means knowing how to properly warm up and maintain Achilles health.

     If you injure your Achilles tendon, especially if you hear or feel a pop, it is important that you immediately see a doctor. A rupture, meaning a bad tear, may need surgery, which is the best way to limit the build up of debilitating scar tissue.

     Overweight people should take a 10-15 minute walk every day, 2-3 minutes of this walking uphill. This not only gets blood circulating, it also stretches out Achilles and low back, the two most immobile and compressed areas on overweight people.