Fatty tissue deposition along the Calcaneus Tendon

My client came in with pain in her right Achilles tendon, lateral and just above the calcaneus bone. This pain has been present since January, following 14 weeks in a fitness program involving plyometrics.

The assessment of the available range of motion in ankle dorsiflexion was revealing right away, even before taking the client to the table and assessing the tissue through palpation. Both heel bones showed a lack of independent movement in relation to the talus bone, and there was insufficient inversion and eversion to actively engage all the bundles of the Achilles tendon.

Without these fundamental lateral movements of the calcaneus, the tendon started to “shrink,” leading to atrophy in the lateral collagenous fibers and overuse of the middle section. This lack of sliding motion in the fibers increased the proliferation of fatty tissue, attempting to fill in micro-empty spaces around the area.When she started this plyometric program (involving jumping exercises), she wasn’t aware of her joint capacity or the degrees of freedom available in her ankles.

Repeatedly straining same line of tissues over a prolonged period without an initial joint capacity evaluation has led to tissue inflammation, absence of contractile variability, adipose tissue deposition and ultimately cellular atrophy.Now, translate this concept and tissue behavior to a high-level athlete, where reactive strength in the Achilles tendon is absolutely essential in order to perform at competition level.

At these standards (i. e. NFL, MLB, NBA, Olympics, etc.), an athlete needs constant joint assessment, tissue analysis, and specific training to optimize tissue behavior and achieve what @absolutesportscience calls “Point B” (please see additional details on their account).@functionalrangerelease

@functional_range_conditioning

@effective_motus #achilestendon

See pictures here: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBj1LYLRAoZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==