Thanks for this, definitely the best one I found on the subject so far. It describes all symptoms perfectly. Information overload is indeed a big problem, the downside of the ease of access to information is that you have to filter it somehow. With loads of conflicting ideas on a matter it's easy to just give up and do nothing.
Such a great video to pass onto patients to help them during their experience of this condition. This will certainly help my clinical practice - thank you!
I have midsection and insertional on both heels. Insertional tendonothfor 8 years after breaking my left ankle and spraining my right ankle at the same time. Lumps appeared on the midsection area last year and the area was extremely sore to touch. This caused me to stop dancing all of this year to prevent flaring them up and give them a chance to recover whilst attempting to do rehab exercises. I am having difficulty with the raises due to arthritis in my big toe joints being aggravated. I persevere with the pain while doing the exercises although I only need to do a few and it causes my toes to not bend up or down and then I have to walk by lifting my feet up and placing down, not rolling through heel to toe for days afterwards and this puts me off doing the exercises. I have arthritis causing pain in my hips and knees and some other issues with my pelvis and groin with barely any strength in my glutes as well. So I am really only up to doing the heel raises on both legs. I am only 56 and have lost my ability to squat, lunge, jump, hop and now dance. Refraining from dancing has allowed my lumps to reduce and I am able to touch there now but even a short walk flares them up and causes overnight pain. Would you please advise me where I should start? Do seated heel holds and raises help strengthen the Achilles enough? I would greatly appreciate your feedback as I would dearly love to return to dancing and become active once again.
Thank you for the informative video. I got diagnosed today with bilateral insertional achilles tendinopathy today so I'll be waiting to hear from physio to start the rehab programme. Wanted to start with the exercises you discussed in the mean time but I can't even do the toe stands, it's too painful!
I am glad you enjoyed the video! Sometimes the standing toe raises are too painful initially, especially if you do one leg at a time. Usually if you do do them on both legs at the same time the pain is much less. You can then progress to one leg. Sometimes we use non-weightbearing options initially which can be easier to start with. Good luck with your recovery!
Thank you for this. Months ago a car pinned my ankle under a tire as I was exiting the rear passenger side. They had to back up to release my foot. It was very swollen & badly bruised. MRI & xray showed nothing broken or nerve damage, just inflammation. I walked for months on it until it became unbearable. Podiatrist thought it was plantar fasciitis & gave cortisol shot. Worked great for 3 weeks then pain in the back of my ankle came with a vengeance and I am limping & can barely walk by the end of the day. Just started going to PT for the achilles but it is so frustrating since I haven’t walked for exercise in over 3 weeks and pain hasn’t reduced at all. I’ve been biking but now it’s getting too cold. I must stay active for my physical & mental well/being. You mentioned that it is highly unlikely a rupture could occur. Should I resume walking (3-4 miles daily) as long as I can stand the pain and limp through it? Could I cause more damage? Thank you
Hi Peter, great video! Don’t you recommend seated calf raises now instead of standing calf raises? I think I heard you say that on a previous course I did with you. Cheers
Thank you! Yes seated calf raise is very useful for some people but not essential. Useful when they are really poor at doing a single leg standing calf raise, and also useful to provide a different muscle-tendon unit stimulus.
I signed up for a sponsored walk of 300 miles over October. I was doing really well... however, I overdid it last week, walked 6 miles fast having not given myself enough time to rest from the previous fast walk. I believe I have insertional tendonopathy. I have 33 miles left to do this week. I've found that putting heel raisers inside my shoes helpful. It's definitely caused by me pushing off my toes. Is that likely to be rectified with calf strength exercises in the long run? Or do I need to look at getting a foot specialist to investigate? I'm doing a 50k ultra in March...
Hi there! Yes, the push off part of walking or running involves high forces for the Achilles tendon, so i can painful. You can try the following: 1) heel raisers as you have done already; 2) try and reduce the length of your strides during walking (this has been shown to reduce Achilles force when you push off); 3) try the calf exercises I talk about in the video and make sure you progress the weight you are holding as you are able to). These strategies are enough for many people. Otherwise, consulting a good physical therapist or physiotherapist in your area is the next step. I hope that helps.
@TendinopathyRehab thank you. I've had a rest and it's feeling much better. Totally agree with you regarding step length, I had been focusing on higher cadence but got carried away and increased stride length on the walk I injured myself! My calf is very tight on that side too. So focusing on loosening and like you say, strengthening. Will increase weight training over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for responding 🙏
Thank you for the information. I have a question, my Achilles tendons on both feet bulge out and are swollen. The swelling has spread to my ankle bones also. Do I need to take any special measures to address this before I try the exercises? I've had this problem in both feet for about 8 years now. I do wear supportive shoes with an elevated heel. It helps me with getting through a work day, but unfortunately I can attest that it's not actually healing my tendons by just doing this and giving it time!
Hi Suzanne, yes, you often do not get longer term healing by just doing the heel wedges and shoe modifications. I would encourage you to try the exercises in the video, regardless of the swelling, as they are safe. I would also encourage you to see you doctor to try and find the cause for the swelling. I hope your pain is improving.
Thank you so much for sharing those valuable Informations. I really appreciate it. But I have one question: Is this a Fallout Boy Figure next to the Screen? :D
Thanks for this, definitely the best one I found on the subject so far. It describes all symptoms perfectly. Information overload is indeed a big problem, the downside of the ease of access to information is that you have to filter it somehow. With loads of conflicting ideas on a matter it's easy to just give up and do nothing.
So true that there are conflicting ideas. There are conflicting ideas among patients so it is really easy to understand how patients can be confused.
Such a great video to pass onto patients to help them during their experience of this condition. This will certainly help my clinical practice - thank you!
This video is great
OUTSTANDING. Thank you, Dr. Malliaras.
I have midsection and insertional on both heels. Insertional tendonothfor 8 years after breaking my left ankle and spraining my right ankle at the same time. Lumps appeared on the midsection area last year and the area was extremely sore to touch. This caused me to stop dancing all of this year to prevent flaring them up and give them a chance to recover whilst attempting to do rehab exercises. I am having difficulty with the raises due to arthritis in my big toe joints being aggravated. I persevere with the pain while doing the exercises although I only need to do a few and it causes my toes to not bend up or down and then I have to walk by lifting my feet up and placing down, not rolling through heel to toe for days afterwards and this puts me off doing the exercises. I have arthritis causing pain in my hips and knees and some other issues with my pelvis and groin with barely any strength in my glutes as well. So I am really only up to doing the heel raises on both legs. I am only 56 and have lost my ability to squat, lunge, jump, hop and now dance. Refraining from dancing has allowed my lumps to reduce and I am able to touch there now but even a short walk flares them up and causes overnight pain.
Would you please advise me where I should start? Do seated heel holds and raises help strengthen the Achilles enough? I would greatly appreciate your feedback as I would dearly love to return to dancing and become active once again.
Thank you for the informative video. I got diagnosed today with bilateral insertional achilles tendinopathy today so I'll be waiting to hear from physio to start the rehab programme. Wanted to start with the exercises you discussed in the mean time but I can't even do the toe stands, it's too painful!
I am glad you enjoyed the video! Sometimes the standing toe raises are too painful initially, especially if you do one leg at a time. Usually if you do do them on both legs at the same time the pain is much less. You can then progress to one leg. Sometimes we use non-weightbearing options initially which can be easier to start with. Good luck with your recovery!
Thank you for this. Months ago a car pinned my ankle under a tire as I was exiting the rear passenger side. They had to back up to release my foot. It was very swollen & badly bruised. MRI & xray showed nothing broken or nerve damage, just inflammation. I walked for months on it until it became unbearable. Podiatrist thought it was plantar fasciitis & gave cortisol shot. Worked great for 3 weeks then pain in the back of my ankle came with a vengeance and I am limping & can barely walk by the end of the day. Just started going to PT for the achilles but it is so frustrating since I haven’t walked for exercise in over 3 weeks and pain hasn’t reduced at all. I’ve been biking but now it’s getting too cold. I must stay active for my physical & mental well/being. You mentioned that it is highly unlikely a rupture could occur. Should I resume walking (3-4 miles daily) as long as I can stand the pain and limp through it? Could I cause more damage? Thank you
Hi Peter, great video!
Don’t you recommend seated calf raises now instead of standing calf raises? I think I heard you say that on a previous course I did with you.
Cheers
Thank you! Yes seated calf raise is very useful for some people but not essential. Useful when they are really poor at doing a single leg standing calf raise, and also useful to provide a different muscle-tendon unit stimulus.
I signed up for a sponsored walk of 300 miles over October. I was doing really well... however, I overdid it last week, walked 6 miles fast having not given myself enough time to rest from the previous fast walk. I believe I have insertional tendonopathy. I have 33 miles left to do this week. I've found that putting heel raisers inside my shoes helpful. It's definitely caused by me pushing off my toes. Is that likely to be rectified with calf strength exercises in the long run? Or do I need to look at getting a foot specialist to investigate? I'm doing a 50k ultra in March...
Hi there! Yes, the push off part of walking or running involves high forces for the Achilles tendon, so i can painful. You can try the following: 1) heel raisers as you have done already; 2) try and reduce the length of your strides during walking (this has been shown to reduce Achilles force when you push off); 3) try the calf exercises I talk about in the video and make sure you progress the weight you are holding as you are able to). These strategies are enough for many people. Otherwise, consulting a good physical therapist or physiotherapist in your area is the next step. I hope that helps.
@TendinopathyRehab thank you. I've had a rest and it's feeling much better. Totally agree with you regarding step length, I had been focusing on higher cadence but got carried away and increased stride length on the walk I injured myself! My calf is very tight on that side too. So focusing on loosening and like you say, strengthening. Will increase weight training over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for responding 🙏
Thank you for the information. I have a question, my Achilles tendons on both feet bulge out and are swollen. The swelling has spread to my ankle bones also. Do I need to take any special measures to address this before I try the exercises? I've had this problem in both feet for about 8 years now. I do wear supportive shoes with an elevated heel. It helps me with getting through a work day, but unfortunately I can attest that it's not actually healing my tendons by just doing this and giving it time!
Hi Suzanne, yes, you often do not get longer term healing by just doing the heel wedges and shoe modifications. I would encourage you to try the exercises in the video, regardless of the swelling, as they are safe. I would also encourage you to see you doctor to try and find the cause for the swelling. I hope your pain is improving.
Thank you so much for sharing those valuable Informations. I really appreciate it. But I have one question: Is this a Fallout Boy Figure next to the Screen? :D
Thank you! It may be. This is the office if Jim our very talented design and video guy at Monash Uni! He has wonderful decorative flare!