What is Achilles Tendinopathy
What is Achilles Tendinopathy
What is Achilles Tendinopathy
Achilles tendinopathy is a condition where the Achilles tendon (the large tendon at the back of your ankle that connects your calf muscles to your heel bone) becomes painful, stiff, or swollen.
It usually develops from overuse or repetitive strain, such as running, jumping, or doing activities with sudden bursts of movement.
*Poor ankle mobility, weak calf muscles, or tightness in the tendon can also contribute to the condition.
So how can you recover from Achilles tendinopathy?
Instead of relying on guesswork, it helps to understand both what to avoid and what movements actually support healing.
To make this clearer, watch our video, which explains the condition in simple terms and demonstrates safe ways to start your recovery:
About Achilles Tendinopathy
How to Determine if I have Achilles Tendinopathy?
To confirm whether you may have Achilles tendinopathy, clinicians often rely on a combination of patient-reported outcomes and physical assessments, which can be structured as follows:
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Domain (Assessment Criteria)
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Description (What is Assessed)
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Example (Test Scale)
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Patient rating of overall condition
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A single assessment numerical evaluation
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0–100%
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Pain on activity or loading
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The patient reported intensity of pain during a tendon loading activity.
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VAS, NRS
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Participation
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Patient rating of participation levels in sport or engagement across other areas.
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Tegner Activity Scale
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Function
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Patient rating of function and not referring to the intensity of their pain.
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Patient Specific Function Scale
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Psychological factors
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Patient rating of psychological impact (e.g. Pain self efficacy, kinesiophobia, catastrophisation).
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PCS
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Disability
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Scores from a combination of patient rated pain and disability due to pain in relation to tendon specific loading activities
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VISA-A
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Physical function capacity
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The quantitative measures of physical tasks such as number of hops, number of squats and dynamometry.
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Single leg heel raise
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Quality of life
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Patient rating of general wellbeing
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EQ-5D
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Pain over a specified time
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Patient reported intensity of pain over a specified time period (e.g. morning, night, 24 h)
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VAS, NRS
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Source: Public library of Medicine / Vicenzino et al. (2020)
Sources: Vicenzino et al. (2020).Vicenzino B, De Vos R-J, Alfredson H, Bahr R, Cook JL, Coombes BK, Fu SN, Gravare Silbernagel K, Grimaldi A, Lewis JS, Maffulli N, Magnusson SP, Malliaras P, Mc Auliffe S, Oei EHG, Purdam C, Rees JD, Rio EK, Scott A, Speed C, Van den Akker-Scheek I, Weir A, Wolf JM, Zwerver J. ICON 2019—international scientific tendinopathy symposium consensus: there are nine core health-related domains for tendinopathy (CORE DOMAINS)—delphi study of healthcare professionals and patients. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2020;54(8):444–451. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2019-100894. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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