What Causes Achilles Tendonitis?
The Achilles tendon connects the calf muscles to the heel bone. The tendon plays a major role in bending the foot downward, as well as push-off during walking, running and jumping. Your Achilles tendon can be subject to inflammation from various factors, such as acute (sudden) injury, chronic overuse, diseases, hereditary conditions and aging.
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Injury
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Tendons have elastic properties (the ability to stretch and contract). This allows for a high level of activity, such as elite running and jumping sports. By attaching a muscle at either end, across joints to bones, tendons enable muscles to do their jobs.
Occasionally the tendon can be severely stretched during sudden contraction of the calf muscles, often in sudden starts and stops in running and jumping sports. Falling off a ladder onto the balls of the foot can cause the same stretch mechanism.
What occurs in these events is a sudden stretch of the fibers of the tendon itself, which can cause microscopic tears in the tissue. In turn, inflammation and swelling can follow, causing tendonitis.
Repetitive Overuse
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One of the most common causes of Achilles tendonitis is chronic repetitive overuse. This is common in the various running sports, such as jogging and distance running.
Certain jobs can cause Achilles tendonitis, such as repetitive ladder or stair climbing. Excessive walking, especially on concrete floors, can irritate the Achilles tendon.
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High Heels
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Depending upon the height of the heels, women's dress shoes can cause Achilles tendinitis, just not in the way you might think.
Chronic wearing of high-heeled shoes causes the foot to be placed into an unnatural position (foot pointing downward) for long periods of time. This sets up a condition known as "functional shortening" of the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon.
Functional shortening is a condition in which the foot is deliberately placed into a downward position, then into shoes that flatten the stance of the foot. The change can cause a stretch that the tendon isn't used to, and microscopic injury to the tendon fibers can occur.
Anatomic Deformities
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One anatomic deformity of the heel bone that can be caused by both anatomic variations and shoes is called a Haglund's deformity ("pump bumps.") Haglund deformities are characterized by the presence of extra bone formation on the top and rearmost end of the heel bone, which lies just beneath the Achilles tendon. The bump is easily seen on x-rays and is often called a "hatchet-heel."
This extra bone can be the result of heredity, or chronic pressure, as is often seen with ill-fitting shoes.
Aging
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As we age, the normal elasticity in our tissues, tendons and muscles included, diminishes. What were once simple and easy activities to engage in can become potentially injury-inducing events.
Many elderly people, in their honest desire to maintain a healthy level of exercise, often forget about the importance of pre-exercise and post-exercise stretching. This action alone can reduce the incidence of injury and chronic inflammation.
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Resources
- Photo Credit Pictures courtesy of Google Images
