Chronic achilles pain or achilles tendinopathy as it is currently known is a frustrating injury for individuals to deal with because it impacts the person on a daily basis. Individuals with chronic achilles pain often find themselves having to deal with pain first thing in the morning when getting up and moving around. Depending on the level of irritability, it may actually improve with movement and then only return to give them discomfort upon movement after having sat or rested for sometime. For others, achilles pain may be present for the majority of the day or when undertaking or following activities that load their achilles i.e. running, jumping, playing sports etc.

For simplistic terms we will look to describe chronic achilles pain for any duration greater than 3 months. In a chronic achilles complaint we often see a change from the acute irritable tendon to a more degenerative tendon state. Pain medication and anti inflammatories are often not recommended for chronic complaints and the treatment and management of this complaint needs to be multi faceted.

At Principle Four Osteopathy our treatment and management of achilles tendinopathy is tailored specifically to suit the individual, but may involve the following strategies:

  • Activity avoidance or modification – depending on the level of irritability and activities that aggravate the complaint, we may look to educate you on avoiding this for the short term or modifying it.
  • Graduated exposure to loading – we may look to incorporate a graduated level of loading exposure that could look to increase local and more proximal strength and conditioning. This may involve the calf complex (gastroc and soleus) and the hip complex. We may also look to add in some plyometric tendon loading at some stage in the rehab process. Graduated loading may also involve day to day activities such as walking.
  • Isometric exercises to assist in pain modulation. This may involve frequent isometric exercises throughout the day.
  • Manual therapy to address any joint restrictions or areas of soft tissue tightness in the foot/ankle or higher up the kinetic chain in the thigh, hip and spine. Click here to read more about osteopathy.
  • Shockwave therapy to assist wtih pain modulation and assist with the healing process. Read more about shockwave therapy here.
  • Referral to a podiatrist to review footwear and foot mechanics if appropriate.
  • Referral to a sports medical practitioner if there is a need for further imaging, medication and other treatment interventions.

If you are currently dealing with a chronic achilles complaint and would like to get started on addressing this and back to your normal self, then make sure you book into see one of our practitioners at the clinic. Click here to read more about our osteopaths.

If you would like to book in, please call 0396709290 or book online via the link below. If you have any questions, please email info@principle4.com. Principle Four Osteopathy is located in the heart of the Melbourne City CBD 3000 at Pleasance House, Level 4b, 178 Collins St, Melbourne 3000.