Dry Needling for Achilles Tendonitis

Getting your body to move is great for your health and wellness. Regular movement of your body, especially large muscle groups, can keep you fit and in shape. Walking is a good starting point, but you may feel pain sometimes if you do that a lot.

If you feel pain in your heel and back of leg, you may need to get treatment, especially if your symptoms are severe and persistent. This article explores the common causes of achilles tendonitis and how dry needling in Okotoks can help..

What is Achilles Tendonitis?

The Achilles tendon is the band of tissue connecting the calf muscles to the heel bone. This tendon allows push-off when you walk, run, or jump, but it injures readily because it combines the large forces of the push-off with the pivoting and turning that seem to occur in most sporting activities. Also, always standing can strain the tendon.

Common Causes of Achilles Tendonitis

Basically, the Achilles tendon is injured when it is overused or poorly used, if it is old (with the wear and tear of time), or if it is recovering from a previous injury.

Activities such as running, jumping, or sudden increases in physical exertion can repetitively strain the Achilles tendon, producing tiny ruptures. If enough tears accumulate, the inelastic scar tissue makes the tendon stiff and prone to inflammation. The most active people are naturally at the greatest risk for this condition, but it can happen to anyone.

In fact, as we get older, the Achilles tendon gets less flexible and is at a far greater risk of being injured. Your risk is also increased if you've had a prior foot or ankle injury and haven't completely rehabilitated it. Mechanical factors can also play a significant role. Studies have shown that people with flat feet are at a higher risk of developing Achilles tendonitis, as are those who fail to use adequate footwear.

Symptoms of Achilles Tendonitis

Achilles tendonitis often presents with pain and stiffness along the tendon, which is most intense in the morning. Swelling and thickening of the tendon are common and may accompany plaguing pain that worsens with physical activity. Achilles tendonitis can also result in a limited range of motion in your ankle. Without proper treatment, these symptoms can worsen and lead to more serious conditions that require operative intervention, such as ruptures or tendon tears.

What is Dry Needling?

A contemporary therapeutic technique employed by Okotoks physiotherapy, dry needling is utilized for the treatment of muscular pain and dysfunction. Relying on the use of thin, sterile needles, the treatment targets myofascial trigger points—tight bands of muscle or "knots" that can form due to excessive strain, injury, or stress. Dry needling is a "dry" procedure in that no drugs are used. The aim of the technique is to relieve trigger point pain in addition to restoring muscle function.

How Does Dry Needling Work?

The body's natural healing processes are stimulated by dry needling. Here’s how it works: It releases trigger points. When tight muscle areas are dry-needled, they cause a "twitch" response that helps the muscle relax and relieve the tension. The needles also increase circulation to the area. They don't draw blood, but they do increase the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the area, which is good for pain. 

They also reset the neuromuscular system, helping the muscles and nerves communicate better and resetting the pain pathway. Finally, dry needling helps to modulate pain in the body in a couple of ways. It releases natural chemicals that are good for relieving pain, like endorphins and serotonin.

Benefits of Dry Needling for Achilles Tendonitis

Dry needling offers the following benefits for Achilles tendonitis;

Pain Reduction

When dry needling is used on the calf muscles, it can help decrease the pain related to Achilles tendonitis. In this technique, a thin needle is inserted into the trigger points of the calf muscles. This focuses on and relieves the tension in the specific areas that are tender and knotted up.

Because the needle goes directly to the point of pain, many people experience almost instantaneous results: a significant decrease in pain that allows them to resume their normal activities of daily living much more readily than before. 

Improved Mobility

Decreasing muscle tension leads to increased mobility in the ankle, which is central to activities like running, walking, and quick changes in direction. This helps in performing a range of physical activities, from dancing to sprinting.

Faster Healing

The body’s innate healing powers are prompted to go into high gear when the dry needling technique is used. Blood and its components are the main actors in the healing response. Along with plentiful oxygen, blood carries everything that is needed to the body’s tissues, whether they are healthy or injured. 

Addressing Underlying Causes

Often, Achilles tendonitis involves more than just tendon inflammation; it may also stem from muscle imbalances and poor movement patterns. Dry needling corrects these issues by restoring proper muscle function and improving coordination.

How Long Does It Take to See Results?

Most patients see effects after only a few sessions of dry needling, but the exact timeline can vary. It depends primarily on the dosage of the dry needling—how many sessions you've had and how closely they've been spaced together. Your body's basic response to any kind of injury—its rate of healing and reduction of inflammation—could also affect how long it takes for you to see results. And, of course, dry needling's effectiveness and speed also depend on the practitioner, on how good they are, and how skilled they are with a repertoire of tools that they use to help you achieve your goals. But the effects can be seen quite quickly, generally within a couple of visits.

Conclusion

Achilles tendonitis can be managed and treated effectively with dry needling, a method that serves up power-packed relief. Targeting muscular tension, this technique seeks to calm neuromuscular components in and around the tendon. When combined with other physiotherapy treatments—such as stretching and strengthening exercises, manual therapy, and the application of topical heat and cold—dry needling can shift patients into a more normal state of activity, far more comfortably, and much faster than the usual protocol.

If you are afflicted with Achilles tendonitis or similar conditions, such as carpal tunnel syndrome or plantar fasciitis, seeking guidance from a licensed physiotherapist is the first step to take. We can determine if dry needling is an appropriate treatment for you. We will then integrate this technique into a comprehensive physiotherapy plan.