What to Do If You Have Pain in Your Achilles Tendon?

P ain in your Achilles tendon or better known as Achilles tendonitis is pain in your heel caused by various factors. Some causes of Achilles tendonitis include; excessive exercising( this includes; not warming up before exercising, straining the calf muscles when exercising, playing games that need quick and sudden stops like tennis and increasing exercising intensity before your body adjusts to a particular routine), wearing strenuous shoes( like high heels or shoes that don't fit properly), age(the tendon muscles weaken with age), arthritis or certain infections. There are two types of this condition; insertional and noninsertional Achilles tendonitis. The first type, insertional Achilles tendonitis, affects the lover part of the tendon, while the other affects fibres on the middle part of the tendon. If you experience difficulties in flexing your calf muscles or swelling in the back of your heel it's probably Achilles tendonitis. Once you establish, with the help of your doctor, that you have Achilles tendonitis, there are some suggestions that are recommended. These include; physical therapy, icing the affected area, using a walking boot which helps reduce heel movement, taking anti inflammatory medications, reducing exercise intensity/physical activity, employing the RICE method(rest, ice, compression, and elevation) right after injury and at times surgery in case the condition worsens after the above methods.