Achilles Pain: When and How to Use Heel Lifts
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2024
- In this video, Alison discusses when and why heel lifts or heel cups in your shoe can be useful for Achilles tendinopathy pain. It's not something that we prescribe for all our patients, but it can be very beneficial when used right.
👉 Get your heel wedges here: geni.us/lA7G
👉 And heel cups: geni.us/Sc7h8
Remember to use them in both shoes!
🌟Need more help with your injury? You’re welcome to consult one of the team at TMA online via video call for an assessment of your Achilles injury and a tailored treatment plan: www.treatmyachilles.com
Chapters:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:00:56 Heel lifts for insertional Achilles tendinopathy
00:03:26 Heel lifts for mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy
00:03:43 A heel lift is not enough
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References:
Rabusin CL, Menz HB, McClelland JA, et al. Efficacy of heel lifts versus calf muscle eccentric exercise for mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy (HEALTHY): a randomised trial. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2021;55:486-492.
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![Retrocalcaneal Heel Bursitis [Pain in the back of the Heel TREATMENT!]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1VFnNMKPtg/mqdefault.jpg)
👉 Get your heel wedges here: geni.us/lA7G
👉 And heel cups: geni.us/Sc7h8
Remember to use them in both shoes!
If you buy anything via these links, we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Having suffered through ~3 years of achilles pain on/off and tried out PT and other things - I feel the ideas on mixing (and not just relying on heel pads alone) is - brilliant. Coming from 1st hand experience. Thank You
Alison is lovely and her info is extremely useful!
Thank you, great explanation and also great to understand the need to do excercises to strenghten for future
Great and useful video with some very good tips to follow for a long-term improvement of a weak and troublesome Achilles heel.
Very interesting Alison. Thank you!
Super information and exactly what I needed to hear. These folks are great!
Glad it was helpful!
That was an incredibly well-explained and helpful video. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you thank you thank you for this video!! I recently was diagnosed with insertional achilles tendonitis and this helped a lot with the decisions for heel lifts!!
Glad it helped!
This was very useful
Very clearly put and cogent explanations, excellent. Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Your voice is so soothing. Lol Thanks for the info!
Thank-you for the informational video.
Glad it was helpful!
I got insertional achilles tendonitis from stretching my calves too much from trying to treat plantar fasciitis and also doing heel drops. I had to use crutches for a week because it was so painful, but yeah in insertional, you should never go barefoot or feel drops. That's how I damaged mine and I hardly exercise, so this was the only thing that caused it. The heel raises have been life saving, I can finally walk normally with them.
But heel raise short the calf, that leads to plantar fasciites again,
@@gamer_1250ptylk it did not for me
So how are you feeling now? Did you heal your achilles?
Ty that was very helpful
Glad you found it useful. 🙂
Dealing with insertional achilles tendinopathy since 97. Using orthotics helped a lot since they're designed according to my type of pronation. With time i figured out that keeping the original insoles of the shoes beneath the orthotics increase protection and buying shoes with 10 or 12mm drop help even more. I also dismissed doing the eccentric (on the floor, not on the stairs) heel raises everyday, in favor of doing it 3x per week 5 sets of 15 heel raises. The reason for this was increased fatigue of the calves and consequent poor performance during runs which increased Achilles rigidity in the next morning. Chronic insertional achilles tendinopathy is probably one of the worst injuries for runners, it's extremely difficult to get rid of it for good.
Did you ever take the drug Accutane /Roaccutane?
Hope you keep posting your updates. Dealing with it on/off last 3 years and getting into heal raises - I’m trying to get my head around the whole thing (ideally fixing the root cause, rather than padding around it). I hope you keep posting and we enhance how others approach this issue which seems very tricky. Heck 2023 - we should do better
@@totallyraw1313 Why you have posted the relationship between roaccutane and achilles tendonitis?
@@aj27781 Same with me, bearing the soreness for 2,5 years now and would like to go back for some runs. But first I have to treat my achiles right
@@totallyraw1313I did. What is the relevance?
Heel lifts have been good for my insertional Achilles tendinitis, especially for training runs
Great content. Do you recommend the Powerstep Protech insoles or the green Tuli’s heel cups for chronic heel pain? Is one better than the other? I keep getting heel bursitis due to tight tendons.
Can you show us some strength exercises?
I am now using the heel lift 24/7. I place the heel lift inside my stockings when I am home and they work. The heel pain is going away. I also avoid hyper-flexion of the dorsum of the foot like the plague.
Thanks for sharing!
Can you make a video about how a non athletic person could heal their tendon? I work on my feet and if I'm busy I've seen that lump form. I am trying the running app couch to 5k to become more fit, and I'm worried about how this could add further injury... I'm just trying to get in shape but this fear has stopped me.
I feel like some have to watch out telling people to stretch their Achilles in case they have a micro tear or something like that. Where stretching would be horrible for it. I feel like that is what's going on with my Achilles. I tried stretching it a couple days. I feel like that made it worse lol. It surely didn't make it better. I am going to try these heel lifts next.
Do you have any video demonstrating strength exercises phase after the pain is gone?
Yes, in this video I discuss all the strength training options and how you can adapt them for specific situations czcams.com/video/Dp8gzq9zoy4/video.html
@@TreatMyAchilles thankyou very much
The heel lifts are a godsend for my insertional achilles tendonitis. My question is if there’s any harm in using it long term ie does it shorten the achilles and make one more prone to future injuries? Thank you for the informative video.
No - they don't lead to shortening of the tendon and we naturally go through the full range of motion as we walk around the house etc. (obviously once your pain has calmed down). But rather than get too attached to them, perhaps you should rather try and understand why your Achilles injury happened in the first place and just avoid that mistake in the future.
@@TreatMyAchilles i noticed the first symptoms after playing basketball in shoes that were much too tight to the point of bleeding from the heal. As the dumbass i am, i continued playing and even went back for more before it healed. It’s been 6 years. Still playing but this is the first two weeks ive taken off from basketball because i realize it will never go away if i dont address it asap. It’s a balance of mental vs physical health. Good thing is that I’m going to the gym instead and avoiding presure on my achilles. Will get the heel raises next and see if that helps.
I’d also request how (and if it makes sense) to gradually move away from heel lifts (shortening muscles won’t help in longer run as far as I understand). Are there any simpler yoga based moves/poses that can help?!
Heel lift/compression exercises were hurting me anytime I tried at PT session and may be made it worse.
Interesting question - can insertional achilles be side effect of glutes/back issues with working from home office?
We usually get our patients to do their exercises with their heel cups in the shoes - once the tendon is strong enough to tolerate that, we slowly reduce the height until they can do it to floor level. And then once we've loaded them up with extra weight and really made it strong, we then transition to light load over step. This whole process takes several months. Stay away from passive stretches like yoga moves if you have insertional Achilles pain - they usually just make it worse - they can be introduces when the tendon has fully healed.
You can find more info on how nerves and lower back may affect Achilles pain here: czcams.com/video/tVJeJOa2Qqk/video.html
Can you tell me how to use the lifts after achilles surgery im talking about when i start to use my boots .. around 45 day post
Your doctor or physio who is guiding your rehab should really be advising on this as they may have very specific ideas about what is right for you. But if you scroll down to Week 8 in this article it may provide some ideas: www.treatmyachilles.com/post/achilles-rehab-after-surgery-exercises-targets-and-recovery-time
Hi there,
I started wearing a heel lift 5 days ago on my left foot because of LLD. For the past 3 days my right leg (opposite side) carve and Achilles has started paining. Currently I am struggling to even put any weight on the right leg. Please advise what the cause could be?
It's not possible for us to comment on what may have cuased it without assessing you. But it is usually good to wear heel lifts on both side (not just one leg) to keep things even. If you wanted help in assessing your injury and determining how to treat it, our team of physios can help you with via video call. You can read more about how the online consultations work here: www.treatmyachilles.com/
I walk all day for my job. I have Haglund's Deformity on my right foot. Would a heel lift be okay for that?
Yes, a heel lift (both feet) should help with that. Here's our video on Haglund's Deformity, in case you haven't seen it yet: czcams.com/video/Q5ay6kc2x2g/video.html
I think I developed AIT after my surgery ( remove hardware after broken calcaneus), I would like to use heel pads but my Achilles tendon get stiff and shorter very soon. Should I do some stretch even in phase of pain don't care about shortening and make pain off at the first place ?
A few thoughts from what you are writing:
1. The feeling that your Achilles is getting shorted is likely due to swelling in the tendon and it stiffening in the slight shorter position - so it is not true shortening and it will not be permanent - it is just because the tendon is currently injured.
2. You may actually benefit from also doing some very low load heel raises rather than stretches to help the circulation and stiffness.
Are you seeing a physio about this? It would really be best to get advice from someone who has actually assessed you. If you wanted more specific rehab advice and help with getting back to your normal activities, this is something that our team of physios can help you with via video call. You can read more about how the online consultations work here: www.treatmyachilles.com/
If you know you are going to do a strenuous activity like hiking would a heel wedge help to prevent Achilles strain even if you aren't currently injured? For me I usually feel fine but then if ai do a activity that's a little more than my normal routine every now and then it will cause Achilles pain.
It might but not necessarily - if the activity works your Achilles much harder than what it is prepared for, it will still flare up.
I have been with achilles tendonitis for almost 2 years now, and have been using heel raisers the entire time. I was also advised to wear shoes at home, so it's almost 24/7 with shoes and heel raisers. I'm not sure if what I do is helping, or making the problem worse. Can you please let me know how (if ever) I can go back to no heel raisers, or bare foot walking? Thank you
The heel raises should only ever be a temporary measure at the start but the most important part is to follow a structured rehab plan that then strengthens your Achilles and gets it used to being in a stretch position again. You can find out more about what a structured rehab plan looks like here: czcams.com/video/Dp8gzq9zoy4/video.html
If you wanted more specific rehab advice and help with getting back to your normal activities, this is something that our team of physios can help you with via video call. You can read more about how the online consultations work here: www.treatmyachilles.com/
What are the treatments for insertional achilles tendinitis
Here's our video about that: czcams.com/video/mWUzsQILzWA/video.html
@@TreatMyAchilles thanks but I got another question as well. I heard online stretching is bad for this type of injury but I’ve been stretching and it’s helped for me. Should I continue to stretch?
Here's our video on stretching and Achilles injuries: czcams.com/video/Z9iUDPvR7JU/video.html
@@TreatMyAchilles I’ve been doing the gastrocnemius stretch and it’s helped a lot. The soleous stretch hurts though.
I have a set of heel raises for my insertional tendonitis. They help a lot with pain. How long should I keep them in? I currently do body weight toe raises off the floor. i can do about 5 before starting to feel irritation.
This is difficult to answer because we usually decide that depending on how much strength our patients have already built and also how comfortable they feel when being in the house without the heel raises. It sounds as if your tendon is still pretty sensitive so don't be too quick to take them out.
So how long should we use heel lifts? Should we remove them after certain amount of time?
There is no set amount of time - we usually judge it by how our patients' pain responds. So, you want to be pain free while wearing them for at least a week and able to do your rehab exercises with them in without issue and then we slowly wean our patients off it. For insertional injuries, we may get them to build quite a bit of strength before starting to reduce it. Hope this helps.
If you want more specific rehab advice and help with getting back to your normal activities, this is something that our team of physios can help you with via video call. You can read more about how the online consultations work here: www.treatmyachilles.com/treatment-packages
@@TreatMyAchilles Thanks for the answer. I have one concern about wearing heel lifts for long time tho. Can wearing them too long and keep the foot at plantar flex position cause the ankle freeze and cause adhesions or muscle shortening in calves ?If that happens what we can do to solve that problems as well?
I'm doing heal lifts and now I have back pain, any advice?
Unfortunately some people's backs just don't like the change in position - it may be that you have to reduce the height of the lifts or if this doesn't help you have to leave them out completely.
One more question my Achilles still hurt to the touch, taking 3 mini Advil a day, icing and using heat, wearing hokas shoes, which are wonderful by the way, sometimes just barefoot in the house and resting no real exercise but walking till I'm better. The heal lifts is taking some pressure and pain away. Any advice so that I can continue to play pickleball.
@@TreatMyAchilles One more question my Achilles still hurt to the touch, taking 3 mini Advil a day, icing and using heat, wearing hokas shoes, which are wonderful by the way, sometimes just barefoot in the house and resting no real exercise but walking till I'm better. The heal lifts is taking some pressure and pain away. Any advice so that I can continue to play pickleball.
Would wrapping such around the foot with a fabric bandage be likely to cause any problems?
Or would the effect be much the same?
I've had a lifelong extremely strong and multifaceted dislike for actually wearing shoes under any circumstances that would allow me to avoid such.
A bandage is not likely to help an Achilles injury. You can find a detailed discussion of the treatments that work and don't work here: czcams.com/video/H1nfgU1amvg/video.html