Achilles Tendinopathy / Tendinitis / Tendinosis | Heel Pain Rehab (Education, Myths, Exercises)

Summary by Krater

This video provides a comprehensive guide to understanding, monitoring, and rehabilitating Achilles tendinopathy, concluding with a progressive, four-stage exercise program centered on heavy slow resistance, isometrics, and loading management.

From the video

Answers: How do I rehab Achilles tendinopathy?

• Achilles tendinopathy rehabilitation
• load management and capacity
• pain monitoring model
• stages of tendon rehab
• exercise progressions

Exercises

• seated heel raise with barbell · barbell · 3x8
• single leg heel raise · bodyweight · 3x15
• heel raise on leg press · leg press machine · 3x12
• double leg heel raise · bodyweight · 3x25
• deficit single leg heel raise · step · 3x15
• weighted deficit single leg heel raise · dumbbell · 3-4x6-15
• seated heel raise · dumbbell · 3x15
• seated smith machine heel raise · smith machine · 3-4x6-15
• split squat · bodyweight
• single leg deadlift · dumbbell
• step down · step
• hip thrust · barbell
• jumping · bodyweight · 3x6-8
• hopping · bodyweight · 3x30-60 s

What it concludes

• Anti-inflammatory medication does not add to the recovery process.
• There is a high prevalence of tendon pathology in an asymptomatic male running population with no history of Achilles tendon pain.
• There is no direct correlation between structural disorganization and the presence of symptoms.
• Treatment strategies may be better served in building load capacity within the already present aligned tendon structure, rather than attempting to regenerate the area of pathology with intratendinous injections or surgery.
• The improvement in pain and function during rehabilitation suggests future research should be directed toward investigating contributing mechanisms as tendon structure on imaging does not change within 2 weeks and muscular hypertrophy is not seen for at least 4 weeks following the inception of a loading protocol.
• A single injection of diluted platelet-rich plasma, compared with injection of a subcutaneous dry needle, did not reduce Achilles tendon dysfunction at 6 months.