Why hasn’t my heel pain (Achilles Tendinitis) gone away?

Do you have niggling pain at the back of your heel whenever you start walking or running? It goes away after you started walking or running for a while, but it continues to linger around for days and weeks with no end?

You may suffer from a common condition called Achilles Tendinopathy, like Achilles Tendinitis, this is an overuse injury to the bottom third of the tendon that attaches your calf muscle to your heel bone.

Pain of the Achilles Tendon at the back of the legs can affect anyone, especially competitive and recreational athletes, due to the extensive pulling forces applied to the junction of the tendon and bone when we do lots of walking, running, jumping and landing movements.

So what can we do when we suspect we are suffering from on-going minor to severe back of heel pain that just won’t go away after days or even weeks?

The main thing to resolve your heel pain is getting to the bottom of what is causing the pain. There are many factors that may contribute to the Achilles Tendinopathy. Common causes are:

• Overuse of the leg muscles (load management)
• Poor foot and lower limb biomechanics and function
• Poor footwear
• Genetic predisposition
• Tight calves
• Existing auto-immune or inflammatory disorder

Come and see our podiatrists at Healthy Steps Foot Clinic, where we will assess your biomechanical foot and leg functions. We can find the cause of the condition, formulate a plan of treatment and assist you with your healing and recovery. The amount of exercises you do without stopping altogether will be crucial in assisting with the healing process.

Our podiatrist can help you with the loading management, as well as prescribing custom foot orthotics to address any underlying biomechanical weaknesses. We can also help treat your Achilles Tendinopathy with Cold Laser Therapy, which is helpful in reducing inflammation and swelling, as well as eliminating pain. Together with footwear assessment and recommendations for a more supportive footwear, we can help you get back into your favourite running or exercises without pain sooner.

Call us on (03) 8821 7188 or book online