Dealing with Achilles Pain

The Achilles is painful and swollen because it has been overloaded, i.e. it is too weak to cope with the load it is placed under. Rest is only going to make matters worse as the Achilles will get even weaker if rested.

So, the treatment of Achilles tendinopathy is very simple: the heel drop exercise, which in most cases will resolve the problem.

This exercise is painful to start with, but must be done every day and should be viewed as a three months treatment. Download our heel drop exercise sheet. Exercises designed specifically to help with Achilles pain can also be seen in the video opposite.

Adjusting your daily activities and reducing or even stopping the activity that has caused your problem will also help. For example, runners should stop running for the first six weeks of the heel drop exercise, then gradually re-introduce running.