Ruptured Achilles Tendon example essay topic

Achilles Tendon Matt Mack Mrs. Wright Research Paper Nov. 7 2003 Health Matt Mack Nov. 7 2003 Mrs. Wright per. 7 Achilles Tendon The Achilles tendon is a very important tendon to help you with your range of motion of your ankle. There is a plethora of things that may cause your Achilles tendon to tear, pull, or strain. The name for the tendon comes from an old Greek Myth. According the Greeks, Achilles was extremely vulnerable at his hell of the foot. It is said that Achilles past the trait of vulnerable ankles down to all other humans (Achilles Tendon Injuries).

The Achilles tendon is the one that runs from your calf muscle at the back of your leg and into an insert in the back at your heel. When the muscle, known as the gastrocnemius muscle, flexes the tendon moves (Your Orthopedic Connection). As the muscle shortens, the tendon moves to point the foot in a downward place. This is the motion that allows a person to stand on one's toe, run and walk normally. Also this allows them to walk up and down stairs. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in a person's bodies Achilles tendon injuries).

The tendon can hold up too and withstand forces one thousand pound and even more. On the other side it is the most frequently injured or ruptured tendon in the body. All sorts of athletes can suffer from Achilles tendentious. Tendentious means that it was an overuse of the tendon.

This is most common in older athletes who play recreation ally. It occurs a lot in people that have had a history in tendentious. But a majority of the time it happens on a sudden movement like a rapid push on your toes and eve a stretch of the foot getting pushed upward. A ruptured Achilles tendon can have a plethora of symptoms. The most noticeable is the sharp pain in the back of the ankle. After this if the tendon is totally ruptured it may be followed by a loud crack or bang.

Your walking motion will be altered. Also with a total rupture it is nearly impossible to stand on your tiptoes. Sometimes there can be a gap associated with this as well as swelling. The swelling usually occurs when the internal bleeding that is associated with the rupture. If a person were to continue in there activity with these pains it will cause more pain and discomfort.

Continuation of over stressing the Achilles tendon will only increase the inflammation. In severe cases the traumatic damage and severe pain will make walking almost impossible. It will take a long time to heal and sometimes if the case is extreme it can require corrective surgery (Achilles tendon Ruptures). Some things that may cause an Achilles injury are by quickly increasing your running speed or length. As well as by running up and down hills, and even stairs.

If you begin to exercise after a long dormant time of doing nothing it is very easy to injure your tendon (Achilles Tendon Injuries). A way to check if there is a rupture is to take a special test. This test is known as Thompson's test. During this test you are on your stomach while someone else squeezes your calf muscle. Since your calf muscle is connect to the tendon, if your foot moves then you do not have a ruptured tendon.

On the other hand if there is no movement in your foot at all, you should expect a ruptured tendon (Achilles Tendon Ruptures). Achilles tendentious is often found in athletes that participate in sports such as tennis, football, dancing and runners. Most male's often ly experience this when they are between the ages of thirty and sixty years old. Women who wear high heels and then exercise with regular sneakers on can find themselves suffering from this as well.

The inflammation that characterizes tendentious reflects tearing of the tendon tissue cause by excessive stress. Too much stretching the Achilles tendon may cause the problem; such as not properly stretching before and activity, or it could just be a series of smaller stresses that produced tears over time. The injury can be anywhere along the tendon (Your Orthopedic Connection). Sometimes an inborn trait causes Achilles tendentious.

Usually this is from abnormal pronation that causes the arch of the foot to flatten out and it allows the leg to twist abnormally. This causes the muscle attached to the tendon to stretch more than usual causing the tendentious. When the tendon is stretched it tightens the muscle which increases the inflammation and pain from the Achilles. Over time an athlete's foot becomes flatter and will lose the arch. An athlete can be trouble free from injuries and out of the blue have a form of Achilles tendentious later on in their life (Rehab for the Achilles Tendon).

The tendentious is also common in the people who are un-active and for the first time are exercising. IN these cases the reason for the inflammation is the fact that there muscles and tendons are not used to being stretched as much because the have done nothing accept for the everyday walking. They are in a dormant stage and you are bringing them out and over exercising them. Overdoing it as some people like to say often cause a problem for your tendon. The muscles need to be slowly and efficiently worked into a routine were they are gaining more and more flexibility overtime as you work it. The most important things for people who are starting to exercise is to properly stretch, start slowly and finally increase steadily (Rehab for the Achilles Tendon).

In the body the Achilles tendon is one of the most if not the most important tendon in your body (Rehab for the Achilles Tendon). If this tendon was absent from your body you would be immobile. This tendon is highly respected by doctors because they know the importance of this tendon. If this is to happen to anyone all precautions should be taken because if you mess up you Achilles tendon it will effect your everyday life for the rest of your life. Worked Cited "Achilles Tendon".

Achilles Tendon injuries. The center for Orthopedics and Sports medicine. 3 Nov. 2003... "Achilles Tendon". Achilles Tendon Repairs.

The Stone Clinic. 5 Nov. 2002. "Achilles Tendon". Achilles Tendon Ruptures. Sports Medicine Institute. 4 Nov. 2003. web "Achilles Tendon".

Your orthopedic connection. American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. Rehab of the Achilles Tendon. Rehab of Achilles Tendon.

6 Nov. 2003. web.