Measures to Strengthen and Prevent Achilles Injuries
The Achilles tendon connects your calf muscles to your heel and handles very large loads during walking, running, jumping, and sprinting—up to about ten times your body weight. It’s built for quick, powerful movement, yet it can fail without warning. The tendon is strong but not invincible, which is why prevention and smart loading are important.
Types of Achilles Injuries
– Achilles tendon tear (rupture): a sudden pop with sharp pain up the leg, often felt as a blow to the ankle.
– Tendinopathy: degeneration of the tendon fibers with growing pain, stiffness, and swelling at the back of the ankle.
– Tendonitis: acute inflammation of the tendon; morning stiffness and pain that worsens with activity. It can be insertional (near the heel bone) or noninsertional (in the middle part of the tendon).
– Tendinosis: non-inflammatory degeneration from repetitive strains without proper healing, often linked to tight calves or heel spurs.
Activities that Can Cause Tears
Tendon tears commonly happen during rapid changes in speed or direction, such as running, gymnastics, dancing, football, basketball, tennis, and similar activities. Tears typically occur when you push off suddenly rather than when you land. Key statistics: about 90% involve acceleration or deceleration; many people have little or no prior heel pain; roughly half show some tissue degeneration before rupture; tears often occur about 30 minutes into activity.
Big Picture: Tendon Pain Modulation
– The brain and nervous system can dampen pain signals, which can protect you but also mask tissue problems.
– Load management and exposure are crucial. Controlling how much load the tendon bears and gradually exposing it to new demands is the best way to improve tendon health. Think of reinforcing a wall that cracks by adding support incrementally over time.
How to Prevent Achilles Tears
There isn’t a single guaranteed prevention. A safe approach is to vary the loads on the tendon and keep its natural role of absorbing and transferring forces.
– Include pogo-like jumps and heel taps in your routine.
– Add a consistent daily routine as part of your movement preparation.
– Use a long-term plan that loads the tendon from multiple angles with careful tempo. A practical method is heavy slow resistance training, such as four seconds of eccentric work followed by three seconds of concentric work, spread over a 12-week block. Research supports this approach.
Assessment and progression
– Start with calf raises that cover the full range of motion, emphasizing a faster rise and slower lowering. Aim for about 20 reps per leg as a baseline to check symmetry and overall capacity.
– Progress gradually, targeting around a 10% weekly increase in volume.
– A useful guiding thought: we often overestimate what we can accomplish in a month and underestimate what we can achieve in a year. Plan for steady, long-term progress.
Exercise is Important, but Diet Matters
Beyond exercise, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, and eating nutritious foods support tendon health. Supplements can help, but they aren’t the main solution. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis; Vitamin A supports tissue formation and immune health; Vitamin E has anti-inflammatory properties. The evidence on diet and tendon health is evolving, and collagen supplements are commonly used to support collagen synthesis when taken with Vitamin C.
Wrapping Up
Tendon tears can affect anyone, regardless of fitness. Before engaging in risky tendon activities, warm up properly, load the tendon appropriately, and prioritize sleep, stress management, and nutrition. While precautions reduce risk, there are no guarantees, so aim to minimize risk and listen to your body.
