Did you know that severe pain in your calf muscles can be due to an Achilles tendon injury? This occurs when your Achilles tendon (a group of fibrous tissue that connects your calf muscle to the heel bone) gets inflamed or irritated. Generally, it occurs due to injury or wear and tear of the tendon, which causes pain, stiffness, swelling, and difficulty in walking, running, and jumping. Fortunately, with treatment, it can be recovered. However, recovery time can vary based on the severity of the inflammation and tissue damage. Learn in detail how Achilles tendonitis can be treated and the timeline for its recovery in this article. Get a consultation with the best Podiatrists in Brooklyn.
Achilles Tendonitis Recovery Timeline
Typically, Achilles tendonitis recovery time depends on the severity and your prescribed treatment plan. Generally, this recovery timeline can be expected:
- Mild cases: In mild cases, most recoveries take from a few weeks to 3 months. Typically, you may only experience minor inflammation and irritation, but not the risk of tendon tears. Its treatment involves the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, elevate) and some stretching and over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications.
- Moderate cases: In moderate cases, most recoveries take from 3 to 6 months because they cause persistent pain, swelling, and a few tendon tears. Its treatment involves physical therapy, braces, or orthotics to correct gait issues. You may need to take part in rehab and activity modification until you recover.
- Severe or chronic cases: In severe or chronic cases, most recoveries can take up to 6 to 12 months because of chronic inflammation, major tears, or tendon degeneration. Treatment involves advanced therapies like PRP injections, immobilization, or surgery when necessary. After post-treatment, you may need a few months of physical therapy.
This post-treatment physical therapy may take 9 to 12 months, during which the doctor focuses on immobilization and rehab, and gradually starts weight-bearing training to help patients regain their strength and mobility within a year.
Exercises for Achilles Tendonitis Recovery
Exercises play a significant role in Achilles tendonitis recovery as they help lower pain and stiffness as well as improve strength and mobility. However, not all types of exercises are suitable for everyone. That’s why the physical therapist recommends a series of different types of muscle contraction exercises, for instance:
- Isometric exercises:
These exercises involve isometric contraction of your muscles, which means you make a muscle tense without moving your body. The most common isometric exercise is calf raises, where you go up on your toes and hold that position for a few seconds. These exercises are helpful in the early stages of rehab, where the Achilles tendon has undergone serious irritation or is not able to withstand other types of contraction exercises.
- Eccentric-only exercises:
These exercises focus on eccentric contraction, where the muscle lengthens while it is contracting. When you perform calf raises, after the upward movement, the downward movement is where eccentric contraction occurs. Performing calf raises in an eccentric-only way helps the muscles and tendons to become stronger as you go down. First, you go up on your toes on both feet, and then slowly lower your body down only on the injured side. These exercises have been proven to aid recovery from Achilles tendonitis. However, these exercises are not recommended with Achilles rehab, as they won’t help to restore your tendon function completely.
- Isotonic exercises:
These exercises involve a combination of concentric muscle contractions (where the muscle shortens) and eccentric contractions (where it lengthens). The most common example of an isotonic exercise is calf raises. When you lift your body on your toes, it focuses on the concentric contraction of the calf muscles, and when you lower yourself down slowly, it focuses on the eccentric contraction of the calf muscles. This allows muscles and tendons to stay under constant pressure during the up and down movement. These exercises are recommended for an Achilles rehab program to restore your strength for full movement patterns, so that you can walk, run, and jump.
- Plyometric exercises:
These exercises help to restore the explosive function of your calf muscles, along with the stretching and shortening cycle of your Achilles tendon. Achilles tendons work like springs that go through rapid stretching and shortening cycles when we run or jump. This involves your calf muscles; producing quick, forceful contractions, which is not possible if your tendons are injured. Research shows some people can restore their stretching and shortening cycles with heavy, slow isotonic exercises, but it doesn’t apply to everyone. This is where these exercises are used and only added at the end of the rehab program. These exercises might be skipped if you don’t participate in activities or sports where this type of movement is needed.
Treatment Protocols for Achilles Tendonitis Recovery
When it comes to Achilles tendonitis recovery, the most commonly used treatment protocol is the Alfredson protocol, which is also considered the “gold standard” for treating Achilles tendonitis. In this protocol, your doctor or physical therapists treat your Achilles tendonitis with repeated eccentric heel drop exercises. These exercises put the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles of your calf under tension when you lower your step while staying on your toes on the edge, putting controlled stress on the Achilles tendon to promote healing.
Pain is a crucial part of this treatment. You should feel mild to moderate pain while performing the exercises, which means your tendon is getting stronger. If you don’t experience any pain, you need to add some resistance, such as weights or a resistance band, until you start experiencing the pain. The pain is not going to be sharp or unbearable. You need to perform 3 sets of 15 eccentric heel drop exercises per day, two times in a row. It lasts for 12 weeks (about 3 months) for full recovery.
Achilles Tendonitis Recovery: Post-Surgery Care
Immediately after your surgery, your doctor fits a cast or splint on your foot and ankle to immobilize your foot to heal. You may need to use crutches or a wheelchair to avoid putting weight on your feet. Your doctor may also prescribe strong pain medications for the first few days after the procedure and supervise your recovery. Sometimes, the doctor may prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen to manage inflammation and pain. Applying an ice pack and elevating your foot for 15 minutes several times a day also helps to manage discomfort and swelling.
After 2 to 4 weeks of surgery, your doctor will remove the cast or splint along with sutures and fit a controlled ankle-movement boot to stabilize your Achilles tendon. So, you can start putting weight on your feet and start walking. To improve your movement and flexibility, you may need to participate in a rehabilitation program for 6 to 9 months for complete recovery.
Achilles tendonitis recovery depends on your injury severity and overall health. So, for mild to moderate cases, recovery is possible from a few weeks to 6 months, whereas in severe to chronic cases, recovery can take up to a year. Make sure you follow the Achilles tendonitis treatment plan properly as prescribed by your doctor to boost your healing time.
Need help with Achilles tendonitis? Visit our podiatry clinic in Brooklyn to get professionals to treat your foot problems and guide you on how to prevent them in the future. Call us to book your appointment now!! At Doral Health & Wellness, we have Podiatrists with extensive education and expertise.
If you’re ready to take the next step in managing your pain, we recommend consulting with our healthcare provider to explore the right treatments or therapies for you. Always listen to your body and adjust your daily routine to prioritize your well-being. Trauma to the tendons, muscles, and bones of the foot is quite common. It’s not a good idea to put off seeing Foot Doctor Brooklyn until you are in a lot of pain. Our address is 1797 Pitkin Avenue, New York, NY 11212. To make an appointment, please call + 1 718 367 2555 or send an email toinfo@doralhw.org.
