Hi, the topic of injuring the achilles tendon while playing badminton has been in my head for the past two days. As you all know, wong choon hann broke/injured that part of the area during 2006, and he was unable to be his best after he recovered. I've read several articles regarding this area, and apparently, there's a high chance of injuring it by constantly putting weight on it. So, I was wondering, since we always put weight on it from the footwork, wouldn't it increase our chances of injuring it? And for experienced players whos' been in the field for decades, have you ever injured this area? How did you injure it? After recovery, were you able to play as good as before? Are there any tips to avoid this injury?
This is a horrible injury because tendons are stubborn things to heal. Sudden overstretching is the mechanism...worse if the calf muscles are tired or tight or previously injured or just plain old. In 'ordinary life' this is often a problem of middle-aged, weekend atheletes. But it can be a problem for young people who train competitively in sports where extreme stretching and repetitive jumping are required. Prevention involves being light, strong, flexible, well-hydrated and remembering to warm up.
Proper footwork will reduce chances of injuring yourself, not only specific area, but in general as well. Coming to the topic, the Achilles tendon is a very large, rigid and strong piece of tissue. It is able to take up to considerable amount of stress. Having said that, it doesn't mean you don't have to worry about injury to Achilles. On the contrary, for sportsmen who engage activites which requires explosive feet movement, the Achilles is often a common area of injury. I had a partial tear more than 10years ago, required surgery to repair it, and it wasn't the same since. Nowadays, my Achilles feels tight, from the heel area to the part where it joins the calf muscles. To prevent any further injury, usually i will -do stretching for the Achilles area. the stretching will go to the extent that i will not feel any tightness in the area. -after stretching, also move around lightly, or just do stroking before a game for 30mins. this will ensure that i get all the muscles around the Achilles area warmed up. during normal days there are exercises which can help you to strengthen the areas around the achilles. do a search on the web for that.
Is this an achilles tendon sprain?.. ..in need of advice from those who've experienced this before or BC resident medical experts.. A friend of mine is experiencing this painful episode near the ankle/achilles tendon/just above the heel area (see the area in cloud in the pics). He sprained the same ankle a few yrs back. But recently, abt 2 or so weeks ago, after a day of intense badminton, he woke up with this painful feeling in the achilles tendon/ankle area. It was so painful that he had to limp for half of the day. This is his first time experiencing this type of injury. He told me, when he raises his foot (like in 1st picture) or twists his foot around he could feel the pain all the way up to just below the calf. But when he rests his foot flat on the floor, there's no pain. The pain only occurs on the inside of the foot. He tried playing badminton last week and tried to do calf raises, but felt that ankle just wasn't strong enough because of the pain. He was curious if it's anything related to a reg. muscle pull or a minor sprain. And if it's just a sprain, he wonders what he should do to heal it? He's in his mid 30s and plays badminton at least twice a week. Thanks in advance for any advice/infos.
@ ctjcad- i think you are right. achilles strain vs tendinitis vs posterior tibial tendinitis would be my differentials. seek medical evaluation- preferably from a board certified physician and preferably someone who has an interest in sports medicine or orthopedics. physical therapy will definitely help to know the proper exercises. i would not recommend him to continue what you described above as "calf raises". looking at some exercises prescribed for this condition doesnt show any "similar vigorous" manuevers being prescribed. the usual rest -ice compress- ibuprofen/naprosyn regimen will help. did i mention - go to your doctor. he may refer your friend to a specialist if needed. sometimes no imaging studies are needed to make a diagnosis, so dont expect one will get an xray on their visit.
Agree w raceto21. Achilles tendinitis from overuse. Rest, ice (lots!), ibuprofen/ naproxen. And stretch before playing next time!
Thanks, guys, for the input. I've shared the infos with my friend and after a bit more research, my friend told me he probably has a very common problem of posterior tibial tendinitis. He doesn't play baddy often but he did admit he didn't warm up enough nor give time to do stretching in a few of his recent baddy sessions which probably caused his leg pain. He told me he will take a couple or so weeks off from playing and will see if anything improves. Btw, raceto21, are you in the medical field?..
When landing , especially after round the head shot or big turning overhead forehand, if you non racket foot points forwards towards net there will be massive stress on the achilles, this is the cause sometimes of the injuries.