Problems with pain in Achilles Tendons
Problems with pain in Achilles Tendons
Case submitted by Paul Lowe
PATIENT DETAILS
Age / Gender : 45 year old female
in good health. She has tightness in both Calcaneous/Achilles tendons, especially on the left side which is excruciating at night, pain of 9 out of 10, with a milder ache in the gastrocnemius muscles. It wakes her every night requiring her to get up, do stretching exercises and apply cold treatments. Her doctor referred her for physiotherapy three months ago which made it slightly better during the treatments, but afterwards it became even worse, and it has worsened progressively since then. She hasn’t had a good night’s sleep for four months, and the pain has become much worse over the past week. She has been told she has scar tissue in both Achilles, and I can feel a large, tender lump half way down the left Achilles, over 2cm wide, and there is tightness in both tendons and muscles on both sides.
Treatment:
I used the Scenar-Cosmodic EX735Ag Modific Prototype throughout.
I treated her in 3 Pathways with Slider 5, Medium strength. The 10 zones treated were all in her lumbar region, and predictably it was zones to the left and right of her sacrum which produced 6 and 12 minute doses. Scenar/Cosmodic ratios were quite promising, generally 5/5 and 6/4 at this and each later session. I also treated her left and right Achilles with Slider 10, and then Scenar-Cosmodic Myo on the left gastrocnemius, and stopped it at 15 minutes. She said the tendons felt more relaxed after treatment, and the left one was not throbbing as it had been before the session.
Second Treatment:
Three days later.
She said the tendon felt looser after the treatment and it was easier going down stairs. She didn’t wake up so much the following night, but the night after that it was quite painful. Again all high readings were in the lumbar region, and most doses were less than a minute, except for left of sacrum and left of L4/5, taking 5 minutes and 18 minutes before I stopped. I then treated both Achilles with Slider 10.
Third Treatment:
Two days later.
She said she had been much better the night after the last treatment, hardly needing to get up from bed. But last night the pain came back very strongly. Again, most of her high readings were in the lumbar region but this time her right of T-2, and left of sacrum, mirrored each other with 4 and 5 minute doses. I then treated her left and right Achilles in Slider 10, then Scenar-Cosmodic Myo on both gastrocnemius muscles.
Fourth Treatment:
Five days later.
The leg has been consistently better. She is still waking up in the night but not needing to cold-pack the ankle. Still hobbling down stairs. During treatment, there were two long doses, 4 and 17 minutes (stopped by me) either side of her sacrum. I then used Slider 10 on the left and right Achilles, and Scenar-Cosmodic Myo on the left gastrocnemius.
Fifth Treatment:
Two days later.
She is still waking up in the night, but it is now just an ache, rather than long, severe pain. Her quality of sleep has improved since she doesn’t even need to get up to stretch it now. We had one long dose, which I stopped at 11 minutes, on her sacrum.
Sixth Treatment:
Two days later.
She didn’t sleep well after the last treatment but last night was much better – she hardly felt any ache in the ankle. It is hurting a bit now after walking around a lot today. This time, all zones dosed between 1 and 3 minutes.
Seventh Treatment:
Three days later.
The ankle was bothering her the past two days with aches spreading into the heel and upper gastrocnemius. However, today it’s much better. Last night she was amazed that there was no pain at all for the first time in a very long while. There were two long doses, both stopped by me at 11 minutes, above her sacrum and right of T1-2. After treatment, the pain became worse and moved, radiating down the side of the foot, but we ran out of time to treat this further.
Eighth Treatment:
2 days later.
The new pain in the side of her foot continued for 36 hours after treatment. But although she feels an ache at times during the night, she is still not having to get up to stretch or ice-pack it. This time, we had three long doses, right of T9-10, and on L4-5 and her sacrum, stopped short at 8, 10 and 14 minutes.
Ninth Treatment:
6 days later.
She has had a cold the past two days. The ankle continues to improve and has not been waking her at all at night. When she is walking, the Achilles now just feels tight. There was only one long dose, right of T11-12, which took over 6 minutes. I also treated her thymus, and let a Scenar-Cosmodic Myo dose on her left gastrocnemius go for 18 minutes.
Tenth Treatment:
3 days later.
The cold is going but left her with a chesty cough. She has a tendency for colds to last for weeks. Her ankle still feels fine, not waking her at night. Two days earlier, she had a substantial walk without the pain afterwards that she would normally feel. It’s still tender, and stiff first thing in the morning, but the pain has gone. We had two long doses lasting 7 and 13 minutes on L1/2 and right of her sacrum. I finished with Slider 10 on her left Achilles, and Cosmodic-Myo on her gastrocnemius muscles in both legs.
We agreed that the condition is on its way out and we’ll now switch to weekly sessions until it is strong enough to resume long walks and, hopefully, sports.
PAUL LOWE
T: 01273 803388 (direct)
T: 01273 803888 (receptionist)
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