How to Treat Achilles Pain
Use the RICE method to relieve pain., Rest your leg., Apply ice to the tendon., Wrap with an elastic bandage., Elevate your ankle.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Use the RICE method to relieve pain.
When you have pain due to an Achilles tendon injury, you can immediately use the RICE method.
The RICE method can help reduce inflammation and pain, and help with healing the underlying injury.
The RICE method includes:
Rest Ice Compression Elevation -
Step 2: Rest your leg.
If you have an Achilles tendon injury or have pain in that area, make sure to rest your foot, ankle, and leg.
Constant movement will delay healing, so rest your foot as often as you can.
You should rest your leg from any physical activity that requires the use of your legs as often as you can.
The first thing you should do if you think you have injured your Achilles tendon is to stop whatever activity you are doing.
Continuing the activity can cause more damage to the tendon.
Take the weight off your leg and ankle as soon as possible. , You can apply an ice pack to your the painful tendon.
Applying a cold compress to the injury helps reduce blood flow, which can help relieve the pain.
It may also help reduce swelling and inflammation.Apply the ice pack for 20 minutes at a time every hour during the first 24 hours of the injury.
After the first 24 hours, you can place an ice pack on the Achilles tendon four to five times throughout the day, or every two to three hours.
You can use either commercial or homemade ice packs or bags of frozen vegetables, like frozen peas.
Peas are small enough to conform to the shape of your ankle easily.
You can also fill an old long tube sock with rice and keep it in the freezer for when you may need it.
Never place ice directly on the skin.
Always wrap it in something like a towel or cloth to protect the skin. , You can wrap the injured ankle with an elastic compression bandage.
The elastic bandage helps reduce movement so the tendon can heal.
It also help to limiting the swelling and provide support to the area.
The bandage should be wrapped tightly enough to apply medium pressure, but not so tightly as to cause any bulging around the bandage or stop blood flow.
If the pain gets worse with the elastic bandage, it is too tight and you should loosen it.
Start wrapping high on your ankle, above the injury.
Once the swelling has gone, you don’t need to wrap anymore. , Elevate your ankle by keeping it raised above your heart to help reduce the swelling.
You should make yourself comfortable when you elevate your leg, so try placing your ankle on a pillow.
You don’t want to cause any additional pain when you set it down to elevate it.
If you can’t raise the leg very high, try to keep it parallel to the ground.
After the first few days, start moving a little bit every hour.
Go slow and easy so you don’t overdo it.
You can make it worse by re-injuring the Achilles tendon. -
Step 3: Apply ice to the tendon.
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Step 4: Wrap with an elastic bandage.
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Step 5: Elevate your ankle.
Detailed Guide
When you have pain due to an Achilles tendon injury, you can immediately use the RICE method.
The RICE method can help reduce inflammation and pain, and help with healing the underlying injury.
The RICE method includes:
Rest Ice Compression Elevation
If you have an Achilles tendon injury or have pain in that area, make sure to rest your foot, ankle, and leg.
Constant movement will delay healing, so rest your foot as often as you can.
You should rest your leg from any physical activity that requires the use of your legs as often as you can.
The first thing you should do if you think you have injured your Achilles tendon is to stop whatever activity you are doing.
Continuing the activity can cause more damage to the tendon.
Take the weight off your leg and ankle as soon as possible. , You can apply an ice pack to your the painful tendon.
Applying a cold compress to the injury helps reduce blood flow, which can help relieve the pain.
It may also help reduce swelling and inflammation.Apply the ice pack for 20 minutes at a time every hour during the first 24 hours of the injury.
After the first 24 hours, you can place an ice pack on the Achilles tendon four to five times throughout the day, or every two to three hours.
You can use either commercial or homemade ice packs or bags of frozen vegetables, like frozen peas.
Peas are small enough to conform to the shape of your ankle easily.
You can also fill an old long tube sock with rice and keep it in the freezer for when you may need it.
Never place ice directly on the skin.
Always wrap it in something like a towel or cloth to protect the skin. , You can wrap the injured ankle with an elastic compression bandage.
The elastic bandage helps reduce movement so the tendon can heal.
It also help to limiting the swelling and provide support to the area.
The bandage should be wrapped tightly enough to apply medium pressure, but not so tightly as to cause any bulging around the bandage or stop blood flow.
If the pain gets worse with the elastic bandage, it is too tight and you should loosen it.
Start wrapping high on your ankle, above the injury.
Once the swelling has gone, you don’t need to wrap anymore. , Elevate your ankle by keeping it raised above your heart to help reduce the swelling.
You should make yourself comfortable when you elevate your leg, so try placing your ankle on a pillow.
You don’t want to cause any additional pain when you set it down to elevate it.
If you can’t raise the leg very high, try to keep it parallel to the ground.
After the first few days, start moving a little bit every hour.
Go slow and easy so you don’t overdo it.
You can make it worse by re-injuring the Achilles tendon.
About the Author
Catherine Harris
Brings years of experience writing about DIY projects and related subjects.
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