Tag: achilles tendon

Taking Care of Your Achilles Tendon

For many people, a ruptured Achilles will be their first experience of a ruptured tendon. This is because the Achilles tendon is the most pronounced in the body.  Apart from its size, it also stretches from the calf muscles down to the bones in the heel. The size and spread of the Achilles tendon make it prone to injuries.

Many injuries to the tendon are generally mild, resolving quickly over a short period. However, thousands of people suffer severe tendon injuries, including tears and ruptures.  People aged between 30 and 49 are the most vulnerable group when it comes to Achilles tendon injuries.

When looking for solutions for an injured Achilles tendon, there is a wide range of treatment options available to you. However, physical therapy is one of the most effective.  Here at Fusion Physical Therapy Lawton, Oklahoma, we have physical therapists with decades of experience in the creation of bespoke therapy plans for the treatment of all Achilles tendon injuries.

What to Expect from Fusion Physical Therapy

Your customized treatment plan might include all or some of the following:

• Heat therapy (with paraffin, moist hot packs and heating pads):  enhance the flow of blood in the area. It will also trigger the relaxation of the muscles to increase the chances of healing.
• Cold therapy (with cold packs and ice massage): This therapy option will help decrease swelling and the attendant pain that comes with an Achilles injury.
• Stretching activities:  exercises that involve stretching to reduce the chances of a relapse.
• Strength training: targeted at regaining strength lost throughout your tendon injury.
• Deep massage: enhance blood flow and reduce the chances of future injury to your Achilles tendon.

With severe Achilles tendon injuries, surgery may be the first treatment. After the surgery, the physical therapy session can begin. Here at Fusion Physical Therapy in Lawton, Oklahoma, we are experienced in working with doctors to create a physical therapy plan specifically made for you.

Your physical therapy treatment will begin three weeks after surgery. Some of the options include the following:

• Manual therapy
• Therapeutic exercises
• Trigger Point Dry Needling (TrP-DN)- Targeted at the soreness and tenderness around the trigger points.
• Protection-Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation (PRICE)- Designed for inflammation control.

We are waiting for you here at Fusion Physical Therapy in Lawton, Oklahoma. Get in touch with our certified physical therapists today for your practical and customized Achilles tendon Injury.

The Achilles Tendon

One of the most common tendons to rupture is the largest tendon known as the Achilles tendon and stretches from the bones of the heel all the way to your calf muscles. When the Achilles tendon is injured, the pain is mild and creates a burning sensation and is stiff. There are approximately 30,000 people in the United States aging from 30 to 49 who experience a torn or ruptured tendon.

While there are many different type of treatment for the Achilles tendon injury, physical therapy is one of the more successful and common ways to treat any type of Achilles tendon injury. At Fusion Physical Therapy we will create a customized therapy plan that may include the following

• Strengthening Exercises
  • A customized exercise plan will be created for you that will strengthen the tendon which may have lost strength during the time of healing
• Stretching Exercises
  • Stretching exercises will also help the tendon heal without causing long term pain
• Cold Therapy
  • Our therapists may use cold packs and ice massages which decrease blood flow and should decrease pain and swelling
• Heat Therapy
  • We may also choose to use moist hot packs, heating pads or paraffin to increase blood flow which causes your muscles to relax as well as heals the body tissues
• Deep Massage
  • A deep massage increases blood circulation and helps the tendons prevent injury in the future

The above are treatments are non-surgical treatments for any type of Achilles tendon injury. If your injury is severe you may require surgical treatment. Physical Therapy will be recommended from your physician after the surgery has occurred. At Fusion Physical Therapy we will partner with you and your physician to create a customized treatment plan which will increase your mobility and get you back to your normal daily activities. Within 3 to 8 weeks after surgery our treatment options would include the following

• Therapeutic Exercises
• R.I.C.E. (Protection-Rest-Ice-Compression-Elevation)
  • PRICE controls inflammation while allowing healing and recovery to take place
• Manual Therapy
• Trigger Point Dry Needling (TrP-DN)
  • TrP-DN aids to alleviate soreness and tenderness that is associated with trigger points

Contact Fusion Physical Therapy today and one of our trained Physical Therapists will treat your Achilles tendon injury and get you back to normal functioning.