I am in the process of purchasing a new pair of shoe. Just recovering from a rupture and now feel I have achilles tendonitis on my 'good' leg, which I think has been compensating for my ruptured leg. Now It's just over a year since my rupture. Can someone give advice as to which type of shoe is better in treating tendonitis, apart from proper warm up before games, which I now do.
aside from proper warmup, i find that raising the heel provide less stress on the Achilles Tendon. I had used a gel heel cup before and my achilles tendonitis is gone after a few weeks. i have problem with it moving around though as it is pretty soft and moves around. i place it under the insole.
If you're overweight, losing some weight is very important as that would significantly reduce stress on the knees and ankles. Additionally dynamic stretches is also important before your games, like skipping, backwards lunge, etc.
Thanks guys for the replies. I am not overweight, by the way. I am looking at the new Yonex shoes SHB 800, a mid cut shoe for better ankle support. What do you think about mid cut shoes, as I never worn them before?
Tendonitis is small tears in the tendon. Really you should be resting or using some kind of support in the heel of the shoe. I don't think a particular shoe is going to make any difference. Kwuns idea of using a gel cup is good idea as it worked for him. If it prevents further injury then you are on the road to recovery.
Resting is actually only what you should do the first two weeks or so in order to let the inflammation reside (if there was any) but after that it is crucial to start rehabilitation which frankly is the only way to actually treat the problem. I had partial rupture in my left achilles (right where the tendon connects to the heel) and could hardly walk for two months. But after about half a year of rehabilitation, I woke up one morning with no pain at all. The best treatment is rehabilitation. A different shoe won't treat the problem itself but would only help easing the pressure. Like kwun said, there is the extra heel gel cup which you could use, but this as well would only ease the pressure and won't treat the actual problem. It's even possible to do sports while doing rehab, although one would have to be careful not to overdo it of course. I played badminton during my rehabilitation time and it would hurt sometimes, yes, but it doesn't effect the healing process in a negative way. One of the biggest reason to why the achilles is so hard to heal is because the blood stream isn't as good as to the other parts of the body. That is why rehabilitation is crucial to the recovery. By exercising your calf muscles, the body will automatically start pumping more blood towards the muscle (just like when you would do other sorts of muscle training) and since the achilles is connected to the calf muscle, blood will stream through it as well. At the same time, you will strengthen your calf muscle which is also a key to preventing a relapse. If anything, I'd say that shoes with good cushioning is the best choice to ease the pressure on your achilles but I wouldn't count on it to actually treat it.
Hey guys, I was just wondering if Achilles Tendonitis is due to a) pressure on the tendon because of stamping the foot too much when lunging or b) overstretching the tendon trying to push the foot off the ground for a jump or lunge forward?
