Physio help

DarrenFreemansPerm said:

*Hijack Alert*

A couple of months ago I was playing football and both of my achilles suddenly became sore. The next two days I could barely walk. I've tried stretching, heel supports, ice, heel pads, but two months down the line both of my achilles are still horribly stiff in the morning, I have to manoeuvre down stairs sideways in the morning, eventually they loosen up but any period of inactivity and they are stiff again. I'm guessing physio is what's required? Anybody have any experience of this?

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Sounds very much like good old fashioned tendinitis, I had it and it was a difficult injury to shake off.

As I understand it, you really cannot or should not 'stretch' a tendon and the only way to get relief is rest and ice it or some level of support that takes the strain off the tendon.

If I remember rightly I continued to play, it would be painful to start but as I played the pain gradually faded until after the game when it would be sore again, I dont think I would recommend this particular plan of action though.

If it is tendinitis then rest, ice/heat whatever is in vogue at the moment and time, time nearly is always the cure.

BigGully said:

Sounds very much like good old fashioned tendinitis, I had it and it was a difficult injury to shake off.

As I understand it, you really cannot or should not 'stretch' a tendon and the only way to get relief is rest and ice it or some level of support that takes the strain off the tendon.

If I remember rightly I continued to play, it would be painful to start but as I played the pain gradually faded until after the game when it would be sore again, I dont think I would recommend this particular plan of action though.

If it is tendinitis then rest, ice/heat whatever is in vogue at the moment and time, time nearly is always the cure.

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Was this peroneal tendinitis ? This is what i have been diagnosed with. Pain around the outer ankle bone. 6 weeks and i still have it. So Frustrating. How long did yours take to go away?

For any muscular skeletal ache and pain you need to try to resolve the root cause. Generally speaking, rest, ice, massage etc will manage the problem but rarely solve it long term.

If you think of it like a car, if your tyres keep wearing out quickly you can either a) keep replacing the tyres or b) stop driving (rest) or you can find out the true cause a) tracking is out b) your driving habits/technique needs to change.

Obviously a human body isn't quite a simple but it's the same principle.

If a tendon is tight and painful you need to look at what is pulling on it both "upstream" and "downstream" if your Achilles is tight you need to look "upstream" - calves, hamstrings, glutes and downstream - foot/plantar facia. If you can improve mobility and flexiblity in those areas the tendon won't be under so much strain.

I've personally never had my joy with physical therapists. Yes it helps at the time but the problem just comes back it's not until I've looked at my body mechanics that I've made progress. Now I'd much prefer to spend my money and time on something like yoga or pilates. There are also lots of self-help things you can do too.

You also need to consider diet/nutrition and sleep. For diet, are you deficient in Magnesium, Vitamin D or Sulphur? Consider supplementing. Also look at L-glutamine, glucosamine, fish oil. Sleep is also vitally important in muscle and nerve repair, are you getting enough and good enough quality.

I'd really recommend these books -

Becoming a supple leopard
A guide to better movement

and watching these videos -

spence said:

Was this peroneal tendinitis ? This is what i have been diagnosed with. Pain around the outer ankle bone. 6 weeks and i still have it. So Frustrating. How long did yours take to go away?

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Crikey that's a post from some time back so I am not sure what was previously said and why I posted about my tendinitis of my Achilles, I wasn't even aware that you could get tendinitis of the ankle but I have had a million sprained ankles which is a difficult joint to immobilise and I remember having an ankle injury which needed a good old fashioned cortisone injection in the joint 35 years ago and it 'worked' and touch wood never have had a problem since.

Dare I take a punt and say if the initial injury was not a broken bone or a torn ligament then usually after six weeks you should be at the end of the injury term, so for what it is worth after six weeks if possible you should be introducing some level of exercise to the joint and building the intensity until fully fit, if it breaks down or you unable to even start working the joint then a trusted physio and a reassessment is needed, or this has already happened and how your peroneal tendinitis (whatever that is) has been diagnosed.

Good luck.

BigGully said:

Sounds very much like good old fashioned tendinitis, I had it and it was a difficult injury to shake off.

As I understand it, you really cannot or should not 'stretch' a tendon and the only way to get relief is rest and ice it or some level of support that takes the strain off the tendon.

If I remember rightly I continued to play, it would be painful to start but as I played the pain gradually faded until after the game when it would be sore again, I dont think I would recommend this particular plan of action though.

If it is tendinitis then rest, ice/heat whatever is in vogue at the moment and time, time nearly is always the cure.

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Spot on. Mine used to come and go. Don't get it now (after bad knee stopped me running). Funnily enough I am off for physio in 15 minutes for a shoulder muscle knot and trapped nerve that is aggravating my carpel tunnel syndrome, and has generally ****ed me up for the last 2 weeks. Wish me luck.....

BigGully said:

Crikey that's a post from some time back so I am not sure what was previously said and why I posted about my tendinitis of my Achilles, I wasn't even aware that you could get tendinitis of the ankle but I have had a million sprained ankles which is a difficult joint to immobilise and I remember having an ankle injury which needed a good old fashioned cortisone injection in the joint 35 years ago and it 'worked' and touch wood never have had a problem since.

Dare I take a punt and say if the initial injury was not a broken bone or a torn ligament then usually after six weeks you should be at the end of the injury term, so for what it is worth after six weeks if possible you should be introducing some level of exercise to the joint and building the intensity until fully fit, if it breaks down or you unable to even start working the joint then a trusted physio and a reassessment is needed, or this has already happened and how your peroneal tendinitis (whatever that is) has been diagnosed.

Good luck.

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I've had a couple of flare-ups of posterior tibial tendinitis (including one last week) - worth looking up for anything that feels like the achilles as the pain can radiate around the heel. I'm getting much better at a) recognising it and b) dealing with it. It's basically instant cessation of running (can still use an elliptical trainer) and RICE protocols plus lots of calf rolling and stretching. Last Tuesday I couldn't walk without real pain, by Sunday I was able to plod round a marathon without it playing up.

Tendinitis anywhere is really annoying and frustrating. Most important thing is not to make it worse.....my coach uses a saying along the lines of 'three days off now, or three months off from next week, your choice'.

BigGully said:

Crikey that's a post from some time back so I am not sure what was previously said and why I posted about my tendinitis of my Achilles, I wasn't even aware that you could get tendinitis of the ankle but I have had a million sprained ankles which is a difficult joint to immobilise and I remember having an ankle injury which needed a good old fashioned cortisone injection in the joint 35 years ago and it 'worked' and touch wood never have had a problem since.

Dare I take a punt and say if the initial injury was not a broken bone or a torn ligament then usually after six weeks you should be at the end of the injury term, so for what it is worth after six weeks if possible you should be introducing some level of exercise to the joint and building the intensity until fully fit, if it breaks down or you unable to even start working the joint then a trusted physio and a reassessment is needed, or this has already happened and how your peroneal tendinitis (whatever that is) has been diagnosed.

Good luck.

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Thanks. I have been referred to see a physio. The injury is so deceiving.You think you are on the mend and when you start a mild exercise you get that all to familiar ache in the ankle bone. You know then it hasn't gone away.
Saying that there has been an improvement. Had an xray but the usual response is wear and tear. Was hoping for an MRI scan but to no avail.

Thanks anyway

Kevin Hall physiotherapy, Rigden Road, Hove
01273882932
info@kevinhallphysiotherapy.co.uk

Highly recommended for running injuries