It is important to treat Achilles tendonitis as soon as possible, as any activity or strain you put on your tendon can injure or re-injure your injured tendon further. Though the pain, discomfort, and inconvenience of Achilles tendonitis can be overwhelming, it is possible to overcome it.

This injury is problematic among athletes especially runners and professional dancers, as both activites stress the achilles tendon quite heavily.

The most important treatment for Achilles tendonitis is the RICE formula. RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, and helps you overcome your painful injury in the following ways:

Rest - is essential in helping your injury recuperate and heal, and avoiding further injury.

Ice helps to decrease swelling in an injured area. Remember to always wrap ice or an ice pack in a cloth or a towel. For the best "ice" treatment on the market today, try MendMeShop's "Freezie" Cold Compression Wrap (pictured).

Compressing the injured area will also help keep swelling to a minimum. Remember that the compression should be a snug fit - not too loose and not too tight.

Elevating the injured area above chest level will help to relieve swelling and will allow fluids to drain from the area.

Ultrasound therapy is also very important. Circulation to your tendon is poor, which can mean a very slow recovery. Ultrasound therapy brings fresh blood to the treated area, which means your Achilles tendonitis can be healed much faster than without ultrasound. In addition, if your Achilles tendon is injured and you continue to strain it through exercise, rigid and solid scar tissue will replace the tendon's elasticity. This will cause the tendon to ALWAYS hurt, during ANY exercise. This condition is essentially incurable, so if you're suffering from Achilles tendonitis, it's important to treat it and heal as fast as possible.

In addition to using "Freezie" Cold Compression Wraps and Ultrasound, we also recommend the Inferno Wrap, which utilizes Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™, another innovative pain relief device from MendMeShop - this technology uses harmless infrared radiation to gently heat and increase blood flow to the treated area (similar to the effects of ultrasound treatment).

REMEMBER: If your Achilles tendon is injured and you continue to strain it through exercise, rigid and solid scar tissue will replace the tendon's elasticity. This will cause the tendon to ALWAYS hurt, during ANY exercise. This condition is essentially incurable, so if you're suffering from Achilles tendonitis, it's important to treat it and heal as fast as possible.

During normal use, physical activity promotes blood flow through your body. Your body responds to the activity by sending oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to the muscles, joints and tissues. When we are at rest, the blood flow to your ankle is greatly reduced. However, when your ankle is injured, it really needs a strong flow of blood to manage and speed up the healing process. Since you can't work your ankle without danger of further injury, you need to stimulate the blood flow another way- that's where the Inferno Wrap comes in!

Our innovative Inferno Wraps give you the best Blood Flow Stimulation Therapy™ available. The innovative Energy Web inside the wrap creates special energy waves which stimulate blood flow by penetrating through the outer layers of your ankle. The energy waves reach deep into your muscles, tendons and cartilage, reducing your pain as they heal the inner tissue.

An Inferno Ankle Wrap gives you unparalleled blood flow stimulation energy. You simply won’t find a comparable product on the market. Other therapy products cannot come close to offering the comfortable, contoured fit and targeted energy treatment an Inferno Wrap provides. You will feel the soothing, deep penetrating warmth as it works to stimulate your blood flow- we guarantee it! Now you can reduce your pain and heal your ankle anywhere with the comfortable, light-weight, easy to use Inferno Ankle Wrap.

Other treatments for Achilles tendonitis include:

• Wearing heel pads to reduce strain on your tendon
• Tendon strengthening exercises/stretching
• NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs) - such as Advil, Motrin or Tylenol
• Manual therapy - refers to "hands on" therapies including acupressure, massage therapy and Shiatsu.
• Taping (wrapping special tape around your heel and the back of your leg/foot)
• Steroid injection - this is risky as it can potentially increase the risk of tendon rupture
• Shoe inserts/orthotics
• A plaster cast - in certain cases
• Surgery - if all other methods of treating the tendonitis fail. Keep in mind that if you have completely ruptured your tendon, it requires surgery to be corrected.

An effective recovery regimen is as follows:

When treating your Achilles tendon, rest the area (meaning do NOT exercise this area other than gentle stretching), and apply ice/a "Freezie" cold compression wrap for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day. Do this to the injured area for 1-3 days, until the swelling goes down. Moist heat may be used after the acute swelling is improved, and rest prevents further muscle injury. Ice will reduce initial inflammation and swelling, and the moist heat circulates blood through the area to speed the healing process. This can be further helped by the use of ultrasound applications over your Achilles tendon, as this reduces swelling quickly and increases blood flow to the area. If you follow these suggestions and gradually start flexing and lightly exercising the area, your Achilles tendon should heal totally back to normal. If your condition hasn't improved after following these suggestions, consult your doctor.

Under no circumstances should Achilles tendonitis remain untreated.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Some methods of preventing Achilles tendonitis include:

• Using a hot wrap on your ankle before exercising, and using a cold wrap after exercising.
• Increasing exercise intensity slowly - to condition your tendon to higher levels of exertion/stress.
• Stretching your tendon before and after exercise (warm up and cool down).
• Wearing shoes that fit correctly and support your feet.
• Applying ice or a cold compression wrap to your Achilles tendon after exercising.
• Running on softer, flat terrain is advisable to avoid injuring or re-injuring your Achilles tendon.