- As we age our tendons go from this
to this,
and that's because, as we get older,
tendons tend to lose blood flow and water,
making them more susceptible to injuries.
Now the Achilles tendon is one
of the most common tendons to injure,
especially if you're middle-aged
and a mid-to-long distance runner.
So in this video, I'm going to share
with you a few things that will help
to significantly reduce the healing time
of your tendon injury, of your Achilles tendon injury.
I'm going to share with you my favourite widget
that I recommend to all my patients that reduces impact
and thereby reduces healing time.
I'm also going to share with you
and do this step by step,
a self-taping technique, very efficient,
and this tape creates an additional Achilles tendon,
which takes the pressure off your own Achilles tendon,
so it facilitates healing.
And lastly, what I'm going to do is I'm going
to share my favourite home therapy with you,
using a tool you'll find in any household
and some stretches you might not have seen
on different videos yet.
All right, let's get started.
(bright music)
So what Achilles tendinitis?
Achilles tendinitis is essentially an inflammation
of the Achilles tendon, which is located
between the heel and your calf muscle.
And you'll find a redness, a swelling,
a tenderness to touch in that area,
and you're probably struggling with an Achilles tendinitis.
It's a very common condition,
especially amongst middle-aged people.
People who love to run, middle distance, long distance,
seem to be especially susceptible to to Achilles tendinitis.
Don't leave it untreated.
It might result in a total rupture,
which is obviously something you want to avoid at all costs.
But if you treat it timely,
then there's often no need for surgery.
You need to be a little bit patient though,
'cause it might take up to 24 months
for an Achilles tendon to heal.
So this is the first thing I'd like to demonstrate to you.
This is this gadget I was talking about.
It's a silicone heel lift,
five, six pounds, online.
As you can tell, made of silicone.
It essentially does two things.
First of all, it raises your heel, a little bit,
thereby shortening the Achilles tendon
and giving it more opportunity to heal.
Secondly, it acts as shock absorbers, like a cushion,
so when you're walking, the impact
of when your heel comes down doesn't go straight all
into the Achilles tendon,
but it's being partially absorbed by the silicone heel lift.
So the aim of this tape is
to create an additional Achilles tendon,
an artificial Achilles tendon, that helps
to take the pressure off your own Achilles tendon.
And I actually love this tape.
It's simple to do.
It's very efficient.
And my patients absolutely love it.
So the first thing you need is, obviously,
you need to get some tape.
I mean, you can get it online.
You can get different brands.
They're about five pounds a roll.
So that's what you need to get.
Make sure to tape is about five centimetres wide
when you get it.
Obviously, you need some scissors to cut the tape.
And this is what you need.
You need about three strips
of about 30 centimetres in length,
which equals about 12 inches,
so three strips of these.
Then you need about three strips
of about 15 centimetre in length.
And you need two smaller strips.
They're probably about five centimetres in length.
Now as you can see,
what I've done with this tape is I've cut the edges
and made it nice and round.
And that prevents the tape from rolling up,
after you've applied it.
Okay, let's get started.
So let me demonstrate this tape to you.
Okay, so we start off with a longer strip.
This is a 30-centimeter strip.
And what you do is, at the end,
see, there's paper at the back, you can pull it off.
So you start off with that.
Now you pull this bit
on your heel, so make sure that you stand on your toes.
You want to shorten the Achilles tendon,
so make sure you stand on your toes, yeah?
Done.
You pull the back off,
and you slide it up the back of your leg.
There you are.
You take the second strip,
same thing, another 30-centimeter strip,
the three long ones, what we're doing first.
Again, you put the tape on your heel first, yeah?
Make sure there's no folds in your heel,
as it can get a little bit annoying,
with walking and stuff, and irritating.
Same thing here, stripping the back of your leg.
Like that.
And then we have the third strip,
same thing, so I'm taking off that here,
and I'm bringing it on, starting on the heel
and going a little bit more to the inside of my calf.
There we are, and this tape has got a little bit
of elasticity in it.
So you need to pull it a little bit,
take the slack out, a little bit, of this tape.
So that's it.
Now I'm going to fold these outer bits in,
so you can see already I'm creating a little bit more
of an Achilles tendon, helping to take the pressure away
from your own tendon.
Now I've got these shorter strips,
these 15-centimeter strips.
They're called anchors.
We're gonna use them as an anchor to make sure
that the tape stays put, where it should be.
So as you see, I broke it in the middle.
I'm now pulling the sides apart,
sides apart here, and going over the top
of the tape, there we are, just to make sure
that it doesn't come off.
Second one, same thing, so I'm pulling in the middle,
pulling it apart, there you are,
getting the side bits out.
There you are, other side. There you are.
Folding a back and you're opening the side there.
On top, one and two.
There we are.
And the last one, same again, pulling the side bits out.
Going on here, and the side of here, there you are.
Now I'm taking one of my shorter strips,
the one that I've also made the edge a bit round,
pulling it, and this goes underneath my heel.
So that's an anchor, essentially,
trying to prevent the tape on my heel
from rolling up.
There you are.
And the last one, got a little strip here.
I didn't bother to cut this one,
reason being is I'm going to use this
to tie up the official Achilles tendon.
See, I'm gonna literally just touch it on the outside.
There you are.
I'm gonna roll it up.
Then come in.
There we are, and create this Achilles tendon.
So here we are.
I've now created this artificial Achilles tendon,
and it takes the pressure away
from your own Achilles tendon.
Now you should leave this tape on for about five days.
It's waterproof, so it should be able
to resist showering and stuff.
I would normally recommend just to put a little over here,
a plastic bag or something around it,
just to make sure it stays on.
So five days is how long you can keep it up for.
Do shave your legs, 'cause it gets a bit sore for you,
if you take it off.
And that you've really, really help
with the Achilles tendinitis and improve recovery.
So, so far, I've shared with you the silicone heel lift
and the Achilles tendon tape.
I hope you've found value in that already.
I'm going to share with you my favourite home therapy,
using tools you can find in any household,
and my favourite stretches.
Probably one or two of them you haven't seen
anywhere else yet.
Before I continue with the video,
I'd like to ask you for a little favour.
Would you mind giving this video a thumbs up,
leaving a comment in the box down below,
and subscribing to my channel, if you don't mind?
Okay, let's continue with some
of my favourite home therapy and some exercises.
This next technique is the first one
in the home therapies, and it's called cross friction.
And what it does is improve the blood supply to the tendon
and thereby reducing the healing time.
Now it can be a bit sore.
What you need to do is grab your Achilles tendon,
through your thumb and your index finger,
and you make rolling movements up and down the tendon.
And you do this for a couple of minutes.
But be aware, this is going to be a little bit sore.
And repeat this three to four times.
You can do it twice a day, three times a day.
It's absolutely fine.
Another area which is also quite sore
in the Achilles tendon is when the tendon inserts
to your heel bone, which is about there.
That might be a bit sore as well.
So you want to use either two thumbs
to do cross friction on this area there,
or you could use the back of a, for example,
a kitchen knife, and do it this way.
And you save your thumbs, that way,
and it's again, same thing,
a couple of minutes.
You make circular movements around the areas of tenderness.
Definitely, you're going to feel this,
and again, it helps to improve the blood flow
and decreases the tissue healing time as well.
So the first stretch I'd like to demonstrate
to you is the dynamic calf stretch.
And what you need to do is stand
with your hands against the wall,
push the affected leg back until you feel the calf stretch,
lift your front leg up
and swing it left to right, in a controlled movement.
Now you should be feeling this extra stretch
in the calf muscles.
Perform for 30 seconds and repeat three to five times.
So the next exercise I'd like to share
with you is what we call eccentric loading,
which is a fantastic exercise for tendon injuries.
And I'm gonna demonstrate the one you need to do
for your Achilles tendon.
So you need to start off with standing on your toes,
on the ball of your foot, so use the stairs
or use your step to stand on your toes first,
and then very slowly lower your heels below the parallel.
Eh? So you should feel the stretch now
in your calf muscles.
Hold this for 20 to 30 seconds
and repeat is three to five times.
Now this next bit is important.
When you go to standing on your toes again,
do not use the affected leg.
So use the bannisters of the stairs to push you back up again
or use your good leg to come and stand on your toes again,
but don't use the leg that you're trying to stretch out.
So here you are, my top tips
for fixing the Achilles tendinitis.
I hope you found a lot of value in this video.
If you did, don't forget just to give me a thumbs up
or leave a comment, like our channel,
subscribe to a channel.
I really, really appreciate it.
People who struggle
with Achilles tendinitis often also struggle
with plantar fasciitis.
Check out our channel, we've done a fantastic video
on exercise to do for plantar fasciitis,
which I'm sure you'll find very beneficial as well.
Another factor in the creation
of Achilles tendonitis could be faulty running shoes,
done a video, four tips to find the perfect shoe,
simple video, simple tips, really useful,
so check that out as well.
Good, for now, take care of yourself.
If you can, take care of someone else too,
and bye for now, bye-bye.