Do you experience heel pain when exercising or when you first get up in the morning?

Let’s take a closer look at what might be going on, and importantly, what you can do about it!

What is Achilles Tendinopathy?

Achilles – As you can see in the picture, the Achilles is a tendon that attaches the base of the calf muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) to the heel bone. It therefore plays an important role in transmitting the force from calf muscle contraction in activities like walking, jogging and jumping.

 Achilles’ tendinopathy - Achilles’ tendinopathy is a condition that results in the Achilles becoming painful, often around the heel bone, and can have associated tendon thickening which is an adaptation due to the increased load on the tendon. 


What causes it?

The Achilles is the strongest tendon in the body, so is well suited to withstand substantial forces such as jumping or running. However, as with many other areas of the body, injuries occur as a...

Have you ever considered which of the joints in your body is the most important? 

It’s a difficult question… but if I had to answer, the humble shoulder would be right up there. Why’s that? Well consider what life would be like if you couldn’t move your arms at all and they were simply stuck by your sides. Being able to move our hands to manipulate objects, bring food to our mouth, or to communicate are very important abilities for humans.

Where does most of that movement come from? The shoulder!

The shoulder is one of the most mobile joints in our body. We can reach right up over our head, behind our back and out in front. When we don’t have any shoulder problems, it can be easy to take for granted just how much we use them. Unfortunately, many people over 50 experience shoulder problems that limit their ability to do daily tasks, the things they love and exercise.

Now there are many different causes of shoulder pain like rotator cuff problems,...

Pain is a very important evolutionary mechanism. It has evolved over millions of years to protect us, and keep us safe from harm. However, like many other evolutionary mechanisms (such as the drive to eat fatty and sugary foods!) it doesn't always serve our best interests. 

What is pain?

If you google search a definition of pain, you might find something like this: 

“Pain is a highly unpleasant physical sensation caused by illness or injury.”

However, recent developments in pain science have changed the way we think and talk about pain, in important ways. A definition of pain that more appropriately fits our current understanding, would be something like this:

“Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.”

Let’s look at the first part of that definition, pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience. It is important to understand that pain is not just a physical...