Achilles Tendon Injury Post Treatment: Removing Scar Tissue
To remove most of the unwanted scar tissue, you now need to start two vital treatments.
The first is commonly used by physical therapists (or physiotherapists), and primarily
involves increasing the blood supply to the injured area. The aim is to increase
the amount of oxygen and nutrients to the damaged tissues.
You see, the Achilles tendon receives very little blood supply, as compared to a
muscle for example. So it's vitally important to increase the blood flow to the
injured area. This helps supply the tendon with the oxygen and nutrients needed
for a speedy recovery.
Physical Therapists accomplish this aim using a number of activities to stimulate
the injured area. The most common methods used are ultrasound and heat.
Ultrasound, or TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) simply uses a
light electrical pulse to stimulate the affected area. While heat, in the form of
a ray lamp or hot water bottle, is very effective in stimulating blood flow to the
damaged tissues.
Secondly, to remove the unwanted scar tissue it is vital that you start to massage
the injured tendon and connecting muscles. While ultrasound and heat will help the
injured area, they will not remove the scar tissue. Only massage will be able to
do that.
To start with, the Achilles tendon may be quite tender. So start with a light stroke
and gradually increase the pressure until you're able to use firm strokes.
Concentrate your effort at the direct point of injury, and use your thumbs to get
in as deep as possible to break down the scar tissue.
Just a few final points before we move on. Be sure to drink plenty of fluid during
your injury rehabilitation. The extra fluid will help to flush a lot of the waste
products from your body.
Also, I recommend you purchase a special ointment to use for your massage called
"Arnica". This special ointment is extremely effective in treating soft
tissue injuries, like sprains and tears. You can purchase this ointment at most
health food shops and pharmacies.
As usual, I've gone on way too long, and I'm not finished with this topic yet. I
still need to cover the rehabilitation and conditioning exercises needed to get
your Achilles tendon back to 100%. This final part of the rehabilitation process
for an Achilles tendon injury is vitally important, and I'll discuss it over
the next couple of topics.