Written by:  Melanie Talastas-Soriano BA-Kin, CAT(C), ISSA-CPT      
                  Athletic Therapist, Personal Trainer 

Achilles tendonitis is an inflammation of the achilles tendon. There can be various causes for developing this condition. Achilles tendonitis is common among active individuals and mostly in the athletic population as a whole. I have seen many patients with this condition from working individual to elite athletes. This condition can be detrimental as it assist with a simple daily movement like walking.  
The achilles tendons are located behind your ankle. It is a thick band of connective tissues (tendon) which are formed by the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles that inserts down to the tip of the calcaneal bone. Its function is to help with the toe off when walking, jumping and climbing.  

The signs and symptoms of achilles tendonitis are: 

• Soreness on the back of the ankle 
• Tender to touch, redness on the area 

• Sharp pain on the back of the ankle 
• Discomfort with climbing stairs and descending  
• Difficulty walking 
• Noticeable inflammation  

 How to treat achilles tendonitis? 
1. Depending on the severity of the injury, rest is the most important treatment protocol. You need to keep the achilles tendon in the most comfortable position (neutral). Rest the injured ankle until the inflammation subside before taking another step forward with rehabilitation.  

2. If your ankle is feeling achy, you can apply ice on the injured tendon. I suggest ice assage so that you can control where the ice is applied over the painful area. Use an ice cube or a dixie cup with ice for 10-15 minutes applied directly to the skin. Move the ice in a circular motion as if you are massaging the sore area. ​

3. If the symptoms persist, visit your Athletic Therapist where they will treat your injury with various treatment techniques. For example, they may first heat the injured area to bring blood flow, use ultrasound to help with deep heating to the tissue to bring nutrients into the area and simply massage to loosen the muscles that are tight. These tight muscles could be partially responsible for the development of the condition.  

Here are three prevention tips to ease pain. 
1. Use the strassburg sock or a night splint that will allow your ankle to be in a neutral position. This device can be used for plantar fasciitis as well. This is helping to lengthen the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles during the night. 
2. Perform calf stretches daily. You have two stretches that are important to help alleviate achilles pain. A) Straight knee stretch B) Bent knee stretch Both are targeting the calves that will help with the achilles tendon. 
3. Add standing and seated calf raises to your training. This will help strengthen the gastronemius-soleus complex that will also improve muscular endurance during daily functional movements of the ankles. 

Written by: Melanie Talastas-Soriano BA-Kin, CAT(C), ISSA-CPT
Athletic Therapist, Personal Trainer

Muscle strain can be bothersome to anyone that is active. The severity of a muscle strain is described as mild, moderate or severe depending on the muscle tear. Activities that can affect or injure the hip flexor muscles are running, dancing, jumping and sports that require lateral movements, explosiveness and twisting.

Hip flexor muscles are made of two individual muscles called psoas major and iliacus. Both crosses the (anterior) front portion of the hip joint. Iliacus is attached to the pelvis and down to the femur bone (greater tuberosity of the femur). The psoas major is attached to the lumbar vertebrae down to the femur bone as well.

When the hip flexor is strained, muscles around the area is also sore and sometimes achy. The body recognize changes or disruption to the muscle cells. The body protects itself by creating a splint (muscles tightening around the injured area). Pain, soreness, muscle tightness are all protective mechanism to help aid at the initial stage of the injury.

Here are the 8 steps to heal your hip flexor strain

Step 1. Rest your body from high intense activities. Do not stretch the hip flexor or lift your leg. Do your best to take a break for couple of days and listen to your body.

Step 2. Ice your injured hip to help decrease swelling to the area. Ice will also help decrease pain and soreness which assists to the healing process.

Step 3. Seek the help of an Athletic Therapist for in clinic care. After self-care, it is best to have a proper assessment of the injured area so that you can continue to rehab your hip flexor strain.

Step 4. To regain your flexibility, you can perform a light proposal stretch. Kneeling on one knee with the other bent at 90 degrees. Lean forward avoiding the hyperextension of your lower back, chest up and feel the stretch on the hip flexor. Hold the stretch for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times on each sides.

Step 5. To help release the tension on the hip flexor, perform a quadriceps stretch. Side lying or standing, bend the knee grabbing your ankle to feel the stretch on the quads. Hold he stretch for 30 seconds and repeat 3 times on each sides.


Step 6. Strengthening is key to prevent further injury so perform a plank. Don’t forget that the psoas major is a huge part of your core. When performing plank, focus on contracting your quads, glutes and core before lifting up to a plank. Hold each contractions for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.


Step 7. Bridge is another strengthening exercise to do. While contracting the glutes to lift up to a bridge, you will also get a slight stretch on the hip flexor and quads. Simple and effective exercise to help the hip flexor. Hold the contraction for 10 seconds and repeat 10 times.


Step 8. After following these simple steps and when cleared by your doctor or your athletic therapist, you can slowly return to your activities. Controlled and sports specific exercise is the next step to a full recovery.


For more exercise and rehab tips, please visit our website at www,insahyu.com

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