Achilles Tendonitis: Symptoms, Causes,Treatment By Ankle Braces

Have you been experiencing pain in the back of your lower leg, especially in your ankles, making it difficult to run or even walk?

While you may think there is nothing to worry about and it will go away on its own- that might not be the case. People, especially athletes and fitness freaks, often get inflammation in their Achilles tendons, causing stiffness and tenderness.

Although the best option is to see a doctor and get treated, we can still help you determine whether you have Achilles tendonitis and how an ankle brace can help you.

What Is the Achilles Tendonitis?

The Achilles tendon (different from Achilles Bursitis) is a connective band of tissue in your lower leg that connects the calf muscle to the heel bone. It often goes by “heel cord” to facilitate walking and running by raising the heel off the ground.

If you are an athlete or a fitness guru, or even a laborer, you will find it hard to rest your legs for too long. Because your routine mainly revolves around exercise, walking, running, or similar sports activities.

Even in middle age, when hair starts greying and your body abodes many health problems, you would suddenly need to upgrade your fitness routine by indulging in healthy sports.

When people start increasing their intensity for running or sports activities, they put too much on the back of their lower legs- specifically the Achilles tendon. As a result, they experience pain, stiffness, tenderness, and impaired walking.

Causes of Achilles Tendonitis

Achilles tendonitis or Achilles tendon inflammation is an “overuse” disorder with too much activity in the lower legs. It results in micro-injury to the tendon fibers, often causing irreversible damage.

Causes for Achilles tendonitis include:

Repetitive activity and stress on the Achilles tendon due to excessive running and walking
People with excessive pronation (flattened arch) wearing unstable shoes
Elderly people are turning into “weekend sports and fitness warriors.”
Any other muscle dystrophy disorder

Achilles Tendonitis Symptoms Pictures

How to Stretch the Achilles Tendonitis?

To help relieve the pain and lose the stiffness in your Achilles tendon, you can start with stretching exercises. Here is how you can do it:

Stand straight on the affected leg
Turn your toe slightly in
Press your heel on the floor
Lean forward and then slightly bend the other leg
You will feel the stretch in your back leg and a sigh of relief from the Achilles tendon
Hold one stretch for at least 15-30 seconds
And you can repeat for 15 minutes or as much as your body allows you

While it is easy to hurt your ankle and inflame your tendon, with adequate precautions, you can reverse the symptoms such as stretching, cold compressions, and an ankle brace that fits excellent. Else, irreversible damage might eventually require surgical intervention.

How to tape an ankle brace for Achilles tendonitis?

Ankle Brace for Achilles Tendonitis- What Is It, and Does It Help?

When you are suffering from Achilles tendonitis, life is not easy. What is scarier is when the doctor tells you that you might need invasive treatments.

You do not have to worry, not yet.

If you get to know about Achilles tendonitis early, you can manage the pain, inflammation, and others using an ankle brace and save yourself from expensive treatments.

What Are Ankle Braces?

An ankle brace is a custom-fit medical aid device that supports and stabilizes the calf and foot joints. The brace is soft and flexible and comes in different sizes, so it easily fits. In addition, it compresses the Achilles tendon to relieve inflammation and pain.

When you wear an ankle brace, you reduce the chance of injury to your tendons and joints as it also helps alleviate excessive pressure and stress.

Not only does this brace help with Achilles tendonitis, but it also helps with severe ankle sprains and other foot and lower leg injuries. Moreover, with our custom-made ankle brace, the joint or tendon’s range of motion is reduced to accelerate recovery and prevent further injury.

However, do not confuse the ankle brace with ankle support. Even though both functions to protect the ankle, they work on different mechanics. While ankle braces treat injuries, ankle support only prevents them.

Reasons to Use Brace For The Achilles Tendonitis

With the correct type of ankle brace, you can leverage many benefits, including:

Relieves pain, stiffness, discomfort, and other symptoms
Support and stabilize the tendon during strenuous tasks
It helps to maintain the proper posture
Ultimately reduces the risk of new or repeated injury

Types of Ankle Braces You Can Use

Here is a wide range of ankle braces to help you find the perfect and comfortable fit.

Ankle sleeves: ankle cuffs reduce pain, inflammation, and swelling by keeping the ankle warm. The warmth improves the blood flow to the tendons and speeds up the healing process. You can find them as per your shoe size. Ankle sleeves are best recommended for tendonitis.

Strapped ankle brace: these are similar to ankle cuffs but with straps to maximize stability and support. It provides wraparound warmth and compression. They are perfect for preventing ankle sprains.

Ankle brace with laces provides maximum male support and wraparound with customized shoelaces from top to bottom. They are the most flexible and adjustable but not recommended to wear for a long time as they can restrict the ankle’s natural movement.

Ankle braces with hinges provide maximum comfort and support with padded sides. In addition, they come with adjustable straps and provide excellent stability.

Stirrup ankle brace: they are versatile and widely used in sports. It has a hard and rigid outer shell with inner gel pads to enhance compression and heal the tendons or joints.

To choose the right fit for you, you can contact us for excellent quality and comfortable Ankle Brace for Achilles Tendonitis. WorldBrace help you treat Achilles tendonitis with high-quality and easy-to-wear ankle braces.

faq

Is the Achilles Tendonitis part of the ankle or foot?

The Achilles tendon, also known as the heel cord, is the tendon in the back of your lower leg that connects the calf to the heel bone. It is the thickest tendon in the human body.