Achilles Tendon Rupture in The News!

It has been a rough early fall for Misty May-Treanor, Olympic Beach volleyball champion. She was in the preliminary rounds of "Dancing with the Stars" when she ruptured her Achilles tendon in practice. She had successful surgery on her tendon and hopes to be back to competition soon. Many people have asked "If such a terrible injury happened to such a conditioned athlete, how can I prevent it from happening to me?"

The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body. It is a large ropelike band of fibrous tissue in the back of the ankle that connects the powerful calf muscles to the heel bone (calcaneus). When the calf muscles contract, the Achilles tendon is tightened, pulling the heel. This allows you to point your foot and stand on tiptoe. It is vital to such activities as walking, running, and jumping. An Achilles tendon rupture is a complete tear through the tendon, which usually occurs about 2 inches above the heel bone.

The Achilles tendon can grow weak and thin with age and lack of use. Then it becomes prone to injury or rupture. Certain illnesses and medications can also increase the risk of rupture.

Rupture most commonly occurs in the middle-aged male athlete (the weekend warrior who is engaging in a pickup game of basketball, for example). Injury often occurs during recreational sports that require bursts of jumping, pivoting, and running. Most often these are racquet sports and basketball, but any forceful push off can cause a rupture. Most ruptures are obvious and the person experiences a sudden and severe pain may be felt at the back of the ankle or calf—often described as "being hit by a rock or shot." The sound of a loud pop or snap may be reported. Initial pain, swelling, and stiffness may be followed by bruising and weakness. The pain may decrease quickly and smaller tendons may retain the ability to point the toes. Without the Achilles tendon, though, this would be very difficult. Standing on tiptoe and pushing off when walking will be impossible. A complete tear is more common than a partial tear.

Tendon strain or tendon inflammation (tendonitis) can occur from tendon injury or overuse and can lead to a rupture. Most likely, although not reported, Misty May-Treanor had a minor chronic tendonitis from her volleyball competitions and then aggravated it with the strain of dancing. "Dancing with the Stars" training has been reported to be significant and quite taxing even to the athletes that are competing!

How can I prevent this happening to me? Treat any tendon symptoms before they lead to rupture! Call your doctor if you have any signs of minor tendon problems including pain with activity, swelling and problems with standing on your toes. Tendon strain or tendon inflammation (tendonitis) can occur from tendon injury or overuse and can lead to a rupture. Prevention centers on appropriate daily Achilles stretching and pre-activity warm-up. Maintain a continuous level of activity in your sport or work up gradually to full participation if you have been out of the sport for a period of time. Good overall muscle conditioning helps maintain a healthy tendon.

What should I do if I think my Achilles tendon is injured? Any acute injury causing pain, swelling, and difficulty with weight-bearing activities such as standing and walking may indicate you have a tear in your Achilles tendon. Seek prompt medical attention from your doctor or emergency room. Do not delay! Early treatment results in better outcome. The majority of people return to normal activity levels with either surgical or nonsurgical treatment. Most studies indicate a better outcome with surgery. Athletes can expect a faster return to activity with a lower incidence that the injury will happen again. Return to running or athletics is traditionally about 4-6 months. With motivation and rigorous physical therapy, elite athletes may return to athletics as early as 3 months after injury.

Remember that your Achilles tendon is needed for almost all activities! Treat it right and see your podiatrist if you have any symptoms of Achilles tendonitis to avoid an Achilles tendon rupture like Misty May-Treanor!

US Track & Field Team Falls Down at Olympics

Let's face it. We are used to world dominance. This Olympics it didn't happen. We appeared human...almost vulnerable....but as a distance runner I had goosebumps as a 21-year-old Kenyan won the first Olympic gold for his country...can you believe it? Kenya had never won Olympic gold...with all those unbelieveable distance runners....and the Americans....9th and 10th but with respectable times....who thought anyone would run an Olympic record time in that heat and humidity...I really thought that lead pack went out WAAAAAAAY too fast and would die...the only one who paid the price was the poor Morrocan who came in fourth after being past in the last 400m by his own countryman....I'm inspired...let's really try to inspire our youth so in 4 or 8 or 12 years the track & field competition will be again dominated by Americans minus the steroids.....

Run Happy...and fast as you can!!!

US Women Distance Runners in the Olympics

How many peolpe realize that Shalane Flanagan won the bronze medal in the 10,000m this weekend? The first time in forever that a woman distance runner from the US won a medal! I was hopeful that this was the beginning of a resurgence of the US woman at the longer distances, but alas the pre-race US favorite Deena Kastor DNF the marathom due to a foot injury; she broke her foot around the 5K mark (come on over, we'll see what we can do to fix it!), Magda Lewy also DNF and the top American, Blake Russell, finished 27th in 2:33.13 (still an awesome I could never even think of even attempting to run time). This Olympics made me nostalgic for 1984 and Joan Benoit.....guess we just have to continue to build our grass-roots kids distance programs in this country and look to the future.....Congrats to Shalane....We are proud of you....

Runn Happy! And Deena....Get better soon!

My friend and collegue Amol Saxena, DPM saves the day for Shalane Flanagan, an Olympic hopeful in the 5000m.

Check it out! Podiatrists are the best "run docs" around!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/13/sports/othersports/13runner.html?ref=sports