Achilles pain.

ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

oldun wrote: 8 May 2021, 11:17am Hello chrisp100 ,
In june last year i damaged /tore my achilles tendon when i slipped trying to kick a football . I phoned the doctors a week or so later after i noticed it was not getting any better and he organised an online consultation with a physio .


I did notice it did not bother me too much whilst cycling but was mild agony when i had to put my foot down ( on my toes ) at traffic light etc .
I was sent a video exercise plan to follow for 6 months :o . This plan finished in December and now i am back to almost normal .
I still have the videos of the plan somewhere in the bowels of my computer and if you wish i will send them to you via e mail .

Regards....John
Hi John,

Apologies for the late reply, and thanks for the offer.

I've managed to get a telephone consultation with my doctor through e-consult, but not until the 24th. It took me 2 attempts to get through e-consult as first time I was instructed to dial 111. Second time I managed to to get a call back, and convinced the nurse I needed a doctor to refer me for a scan/x-ray. Meanwhile the pain in my heel when I put my Achilles under tension, and dull ache in my calf is no better.

I'll see what the doctor says, and I may get back to you on those videos when I have a proper diagnosis.

Cheers,

Chris.
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
If your calf is not weight-bearing, and you have any type of swelling, pain discomfort in doing anything normal.
Then you're going to need professional advice for sure.
The Econ thing is a bit clunky!
You just go back back back and try another avenue until it will send.

After an operation on my leg which was a artery block restriction, they wouldn't let me go home until I could wait bear on the calf.
That was 30 years ago the symptoms are starting to return.
It's quite sobering sitting in a room full of people who have problems with circulation, and day by day they are lobbing bits off the limbs!

Glad you're getting help stick to it and stick to your GPs advice.
Doing anything stupid and you will regret it later in life, take it easy.

Good luck.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
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ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

NATURAL ANKLING wrote: 18 May 2021, 10:58am Hi,
If your calf is not weight-bearing, and you have any type of swelling, pain discomfort in doing anything normal.
Then you're going to need professional advice for sure.
The Econ thing is a bit clunky!
You just go back back back and try another avenue until it will send.

After an operation on my leg which was a artery block restriction, they wouldn't let me go home until I could wait bear on the calf.
That was 30 years ago the symptoms are starting to return.
It's quite sobering sitting in a room full of people who have problems with circulation, and day by day they are lobbing bits off the limbs!

Glad you're getting help stick to it and stick to your GPs advice.
Doing anything stupid and you will regret it later in life, take it easy.

Good luck.
Thanks.

The weird thing is, my calf is weight bearing. I don't get pain at all when standing. I get like a dull cramp pain in my calf when walking, and my heel has a constant dull throb. My calf is usually sore/tight when I wake up and it takes a couple of minutes to loosen off. It also hurts if I walk any distance, same with my heel. The only time it is really painful is when I have my leg straight and my ankle flexes upwards. Then I get a searing pain across my heel.

I'll just have to see what the doc says on the 24th...

Hopefully you get your calf sorted out soon enough.
ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

Just a quick update...

Doc referred me to the physio. I have an hour's initial assessment on Friday... by PHONE :shock:
Jdsk
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by Jdsk »

That's good.

Usual recommendation: write down your questions in advance so that you don't forget any.

Jonathan
ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

Jdsk wrote: 26 May 2021, 10:02pm That's good.

Usual recommendation: write down your questions in advance so that you don't forget any.

Jonathan
Will do.

I'm just surprised they can assess me properly over the phone, and it will take an hour. :?
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Never had one on physio yet.
I'm guessing they're going to ask you a lot of questions also ask you to do some simple exercises, and the results will tell them exactly what is wrong.
Good luck.
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ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

*Update*

First actual hands-on physio today.

A load of range of movement tests, and then a good feel around. She diagnosed it as a tear in my calf that caused a spasm in the muscle which then cause a minor tear in my Achilles. I had a massage on my calf to break down the scar tissue which was absolute agony, but felt great for about an hour afterwards (not so much now though :? ). Ive also been given a load of strengthening exercises to do.

I've got another phone consultation in a week and a half
Jdsk
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by Jdsk »

Thanks for the update... had you had an online session first?

Jonathan
David2504
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by David2504 »

ChrisP100 wrote: 21 Jun 2021, 7:34pm *Update*

First actual hands-on physio today.

A load of range of movement tests, and then a good feel around. She diagnosed it as a tear in my calf that caused a spasm in the muscle which then cause a minor tear in my Achilles. I had a massage on my calf to break down the scar tissue which was absolute agony, but felt great for about an hour afterwards (not so much now though :? ). Ive also been given a load of strengthening exercises to do.

I've got another phone consultation in a week and a half
If you have a suspected tear in your achilles, I would urge you to persuade your GP to refer you for a scan so the actual extent of the damage can be ascertained. Without that you’re working in the dark with informed guesses at best. Also can’t see how physio is going to repair an achilles tear, given that the tendon is notoriously slow in self healing. Indeed all that prodding, massaging and stretching could worsen the tear.
PhilD28
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by PhilD28 »

A scan is good advice. Or alternatively you could find a physio who has his own ultrasound scanner that will give all the info needed. Getting nhs scans at the moment is very difficult.

One of the most effective non surgical new treatments for tendon injuries is focussed shockwave therapy (not radial). If you are prepared or able to pay for it and can find a good practitioner it can yield amazing results in notoriously difficult cases that can otherwise go on for years and keep recurring.

Up to now tendon rehab has focussed on eccentric exercises with increasingly heavy loads and low reps accompanied by cross friction massage, which can be very effective, but combined with shockwave therapy it’s far more effective.
You might also consider one of the better collagen powder supplements to aid healing. Good luck with it.
ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

David2504 wrote: 21 Jun 2021, 8:42pm
ChrisP100 wrote: 21 Jun 2021, 7:34pm *Update*

First actual hands-on physio today.

A load of range of movement tests, and then a good feel around. She diagnosed it as a tear in my calf that caused a spasm in the muscle which then cause a minor tear in my Achilles. I had a massage on my calf to break down the scar tissue which was absolute agony, but felt great for about an hour afterwards (not so much now though :? ). I've also been given a load of strengthening exercises to do.

I've got another phone consultation in a week and a half
If you have a suspected tear in your achilles, I would urge you to persuade your GP to refer you for a scan so the actual extent of the damage can be ascertained. Without that you’re working in the dark with informed guesses at best. Also can’t see how physio is going to repair an achilles tear, given that the tendon is notoriously slow in self healing. Indeed all that prodding, massaging and stretching could worsen the tear.
The Physio has had a good feel around, and with the range of movement I have after a good few weeks of post injury rest she thinks I only suffered a very minor tear as she can't feel any anomalies in my lower Achilles . She believes the main injury was my calf. She's given me some basic calf loading/strengthening that I have to do every other day plus foam rolling to break down the scar tissue. If I get any adverse reaction (sharp or prolonged pain above 3 on a scale of 1 to 10) then she's going to investigate further which will include an ultrasound.

On another note, I had my first ride to work this morning after an 9 week break. I was really questioning my life choices half way up the hill... :lol: No adverse reaction yet... Fingers crossed.
ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

Update:

Second hands on physio last week. She's got me doing specific exercises to mobilise my nerve in my Achilles, plus she's increased the loading on my calf by doing deeper, slower calf raises (3x15). She's also introduced a rotation of my foot into the calf raises to work the inner/outer muscles (2x 6-8 reps).

Pain wise, I'm not doing too bad. Little bit of pins & needles (hence the nerve mobilisation exercise), and cycling to and from work on more than 2 consecutive days leave me in a bit of pain. I'm building up slowly there. My ankle is still very stiff in the mornings, and it takes a good 15 minutes to ease off. The physio hopes to address this with an increased loading in the next few weeks before progressing to some dynamic movement.

Slow and steady progress...
ChrisP100
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by ChrisP100 »

Well, 4 months on and I'm not making much progress. I ended up seeing another Physio who gave me a more thorough assessment, including checking the alignment of my spine and pelvis, plus my range of spinal movement to see if that could be a contributory factor in the original injury. That was all fine.

She then looked at my ankle range of movement where she diagnosed a tightness in my ligaments, backed up with a physical examination.
The tightness was in and around my Tibiocalcaneal and Tibionavicular ligaments. Her examination revealing possible scar tissue build up which she gave me a pretty brutal 'thumbing' in order to help start to break up the scarring and help to heal the ligaments. She then gave me some exercises to do that involved an elastic strap to encourage my ankle to turn out on itself whist I try and counter balance on one leg. Also, she instructed me to self-massage the offending area every 3-4 days.

That was just over 2 weeks ago I took well over a week for the swelling to go down after the initial 'thumbing' and now it is really sore when I attempt any self-massage of the area. I'm going back tomorrow, so I'll see what the outcome is from there... :?
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: Achilles pain.

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
With phsio there is no gain without pain.................................
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
Please forgive the poor Grammar I blame it on my mobile and phat thinkers.
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