Achilles Tendinopathy covers two main areas known as Achilles Tendinosis and Achilles Tendonitis. As one is an inflammatory disease and the other a degenerative disease, this umbrella term is now used to classify the conditions.  The thing to note here is that treatment is usually the same regardless of the diagnosis.

What is important to note is that there is no clear correlation between tendon pain and Achilles Tendon rupture.  The theory states that when an Achilles Tendiopathy occurs, there is a break down of collagen fibres, which does put the Achilles Tendon at risk of rupture, but studies have shown Achilles Tendon rupture to occur in asymptomatic patients.

Most Achilles Tendon issues can be treated with conservative treatment.  In fact, according to a paper by [Paavola et al, 2000], at an 8 year follow up 84% of people with Achilles Tendinopathy had completely returned to their normal activity level and 94% were asymptomatic or had only mild pain with strenuous exercise.  What is of huge importance to note here though is that your Achilles Tendon becomes more resistant to treatment the longer it is left.

Our team of specialists work with those suffering from Achilles Tendionpathy on a regular basis. As one of the main running type injuries, our sports injury specialists have many successful stories of returning athletes to pre-injury level. We work hard to ensure you first understand the condition and then the best way to treat it.

Often, manual therapy and exercise are the best treatment options. Work first starts on settling the pain before we begin a robust and targeted recovery programme. The time to successful return often varies on a case by case basis but we often find that early recognition and treatment can help reduce complications.

Achilles Tendinopathy treatment can be a lengthy process. It is not unusual for athletes and patients to take over 6 months to get back to full function in a pain free state. Rest will often help settle pain, but more often than not, after returning to sport/activity, the pain will resurface.

The reason for this is due to the stages of tendinopathy. It can be broken into 3 stages. The first is that of ‘reactive tendinopathy’, followed by ‘dis-repair tendinopathy’ and finally we get the ‘degenerative tendinopathy’. Most of us will fit into one of these stages and you often find they work in an ascending order, starting from the reactive stage. This is ideally the time where we would ask you to seek help. Your prognosis and chance of success is much better at this stage.

As the stages progress, so does the severity of the disease and therefore its treatment. A degenerative tendon is the same as degenerative bone. Not impossible to overcome but one that can take a longer time to grow accustomed to. We do not want you to reach this stage so early intervention is key.

Depending on the stage you are at, Achilles Tendinopathy may not respond to conservative treatment.  This is where other interventions may have to be considered.

Our work with some of the leading orthopaedic clinics in London allow us to refer on for more invasive interventions such as ultrasound guided injection, shockwave therapy and much more.  Please speak with your therapist during your treatment about the other possibilities to help aid your progress.