Do you have achilles tendon pain? Tried injections and rest but it didn’t really help? Can’t be as active as you’d like to be?
Then make sure you read this incredibly important blog as I’m going to tell you a great and simple exercise to settle down your achilles tendon pain right now.
Achilles tendon pain is horrible. It makes those first few steps out of bed in the morning agony and stops you from being active.
It’s a deceptive injury as you can rest or get an injection, which can make you feel a heap better but then as soon as you get back to being more active it comes back with a vengeance.
Now let’s get into it.
Previously, people with achilles tendinopathy were given the exercise of lowering their heel off the edge of a step. Unfortunately for many this exercise is too painful plus it doesn’t get the quickest results.
Latest research shows really great pain relieving effects plus strengthening effects from doing what we call an isometric contraction. For achilles tendinopathy this means that you will come up onto your toes and hold the contraction.
There are a couple of key things needed though to ensure the magic happens.
Number 1:
You need to make sure it is an isometric calf raise. This means that when you come up over the ball of your foot that you keep weight over your big toe and don’t roll out onto the outside of your leg. If you roll to the outside you won’t be effectively recruiting your calf and will miss out on the benefits of this exercise.
Number 2:
You need to hold it for at least 40 seconds and then repeat it 5 times in one sitting. One of the key reasons why this exercise doesn’t work for some is that they don’t hold it for long enough. The long hold is essential not just for the pain relief but also to strengthen the tendon. You may feel a little bit of pain for the first few seconds of the hold but this should quickly ease off.
Number 3:
You need to have enough weight to make it challenging. For isometrics to work well they need to be heavy and hard to do due to that heaviness. A good way to gauge this for your calf raise is that it’s hard to get to 40 seconds but not impossible. This might mean you need to start on 2 feet or 1 foot or even wearing a backpack with some weights in it.
The big thing is… YOU DON’T NEED TO PUT UP WITH ACHILLES TENDON PAIN. You just need to get the right advice and not be another victim of the generic google handout.
If you’d like to get these results too then click HERE to book online or give us a call on (07) 4999 9773 so we can get you back to doing what you want to do and what you love.