Sports Injuries

Rupture of the Achilles tendon acute stage- Rehabilitation programme

Introduction: Achilles tendon rupture refers to the medical condition in which the Achilles tendon gets damaged. Achilles tendon is the tendon of the posterior leg which attaches the calf to the heel of the leg. Achilles tendon rupture is diagnosed in many of the athletes participating in running and jumping events and described as common maladies observed by sports therapists (Anthony et al., 2002).

Rehabilitation programme of the athlete suffering with the rupture begins from the time of injury to his return to the sport along with minimising risk of re-injury (Frank, 2003). As a sport therapist, I take an opportunity to pen down the measures used in rehabilitation of Achilles tendon injuries which includes physical, biochemical, local strategies along with training procedures. I would like also like to make a note of psychological behaviour of athletes going through this phase (Jacobs, 2009).

Overview of Rehabilitation programme-Acute Phase:

This section describes the rehabilitation programme in the initial or acute phase of injury.

Training: Interruption and modification of training constitutes the initial measure of rehabilitation. Degree of damage, pain experienced and duration of symptoms due to the injury are the main factors taken in to consideration during amending training sessions (Myerson et al., 1995). Reduction of training by 50% is suggested by Myerson and Biddinger (Myerson et al., 1995). On the other hand complete interruption is suggested when extensive training is held responsible for the rupture of tendon (Peterson and Renstrom, 2002).Runners are advised to reduce their volume by 25% in case of injury and gradually increase by 10% when symptoms improve (Schepsis et al., 2002). Lohrer (1996) describes the adverse effects caused due to training on hard and uneven surfaces like grass, snow and frozen grass. Training on hard surfaces would lead to inward and outward... [continues]

Read full essay