Endless tendon issues

[Ilovelowry]

Does anyone know if I can do anything about this in terms of supplements etc?

I started with insertional achilles tendinitis a few years ago which I sometimes get on top of with shockwave therapy and physio and then it twangs again.

I've got horrific knee pain at the moment, despite doing my physio day and night for three months. I've seen an osteopath and physio privately and have a selection of exercises to do.

Yesterday I went for a swim (which I do twice a week so this isn't unusual) and have somehow twanged my achilles again, have a throbbing heel (sort of plantar but it's only because of the inflamed achilles area, it isn't true plantar) and when I put my feet out of bed my knee hurt and my achilles feels swollen.

I was very very fit until I had a surgery last year for which recovery was hard, but I did get back to weights and yoga and pilates in the late autumn and I'm working back up sensibly.

Last week I tripped over and basically felt my glute/hamstring rip as I tried to keep my balance. I landed on my feet but had to sit down as I was in so much pain!

I am hypermobile but it has never really caused me issues.

Has anyone got any advice on how to deal with the pain, reduce the swelling and stop pulling tendons and muscles constantly? I've got two dogs and I live in an old house with a lot of jobs to do so I need to be mobile.

To reiterate, I do the physio day in and day out, plus pilates, plus yoga plus weights. I am a very healthy weight, my diet is very good, I try to eat enough protein for muscle etc.

Help!

I would strongly suggest seeing a podiatrist and looking at orthotics to keep everything aligned when you're standing or walking. I'm also hypermobile, and these pretty much eradicated my knee and ankle pain.

Hi @Mabelface yes I already have orthotics. I also wear a wedge in the shoe to elevate my achilles although I had been working with the osteopath on gently starting to relax the achilles in order to remove the wedge.

@Mabelface are yours made for you or bought off the shelf? I considered having them made but the podiatrist I saw said he couldn't guarantee it would make a difference, and that's an expensive £350risk. Instead he recommended particular insoles.

How old are you Op? Could it be peri or menopause? Falling oestrogen can result in less collagen and elasticity in muscles and tendons. Possibly HRT could help. Look up “musculoskeletal syndrome of menopause,” it’s a thing.

@MotherOfCatBoy yep, should have added I'm on the highest amount of oestrogen, mirena and testosterone and have been for two years, though my achilles happened pre HRT.

I also have prolapses.

I just can't keep going this way, I won't be able to walk or exercise by the time I'm 60 the way it feels right now!

I did have them custom made initially via the NHS. I now buy the decent scholl full insoles and wear them in my doc martens. I did think my knees were fucked and arthritic. They're not, I just bend too much at the ankles.

@Mabelface yes I didn't know I was hypermobile until a few months ago, now I see how bad my ankles are - I was standing on one leg the other day in pilates and wobbling like mad. 5years ago there was no wobbling doing the same thing!

Thanks, I'm in two minds about whether to go for some barefoot shoes instead.

I am barefoot at home and we have flagsrone floors. Plus I can walk miles in flip flops but if I wear trainers I have to do them up so tight as I can't cope with any movement. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I have barefoot shoes, and go actuallly barefoot at home and as much as possible in the summer. I’m a runner and got a nasty Morton’s Neuroma which was fixed but I’ve never worn conventional shoes since. Plus I do subscribe to the school of thought that if you move and strengthen your feet and the chain upwards from there, you are more likely to be stable. I bet if you do Pilates barefoot you can balance better because your body can sense better through the nerve endings in the foot.
Having said that I’m not hyper mobile so you should probably look into that… I did used to have weak ankles as a kid and was always falling over but now I have pretty good ankle strength and stability, it can be trained.

I have tendon issues and have lots of injections and surgery.

The podiatrist recommended orange Salford insoles - they are about £30 for a pair.

I am sorry I can't recommend anything else - I have tried no shoes and then always wearing walking boots to keep the foot in one place but nothing seems to work other than rest and ice and then re-injury

@Reginald123 yep that's what's happening to me, except I add a new tendon on a regular basis! I did my rotator cuff last year which is ok now and tennis elbow for a whole too.

Each responded to physio but I really want to see if there is anything I can do more holostically to help.

I just googled anti inflammatory tips and they suggested sleep. I get 6-7 hrs most nights, sometimes closer to 5hrs which prob doesn't help. The downside of meno is waking up two hours before my alarm goes off!

Also I can't do the RICE thing as I'm so busy and my job has me on my feet in a school.

I wonder if there's evidence for turmeric supplements?

Barefoot shoes didn't do it for my Achilles (and knees) tbh, I'm hypermobile too, my ankles are terrible and move inwards far too much. I have custom made orthotic insoles that I use often and had 20 sessions of shock wave therapy to help with the Achilles damage. I've found changing the way I stand has helped a lot, especially with knees. My old hypermobile standing position was pushing my legs and knees out backwards and pushing my belly out, now I stand and imagine my pelvis is a bowl of water and try to tip the water out backwards, I keep my knees slightly bent too, this has helped my knees and achilles. I never ever wear very flat shoes but no heels either, in summer my Flip flops are Fit Flops or Birkenstocks with heel straps which work for me, any shoes with no backstrap are not good for problems with feet.

@MotherOfCatBoy i also had neuromas which needed steroid injections three times. They are lots better now but we're so so painful after the first injections went wrong. Maybe I just need to crack on with the physio and one day I'll improve..

@StrawberryHoney how did you manage 20 session?! I was on the ceiling with the pain and nearly didn't go back for the 2nd and 3rd sessions!!

Yes I've no stability either. If I stand at the worktop my knees always push out backwards.

I will have a think about your stance tomorrow morning when I'm doing my more physio.

I have stopped fully extending after squats too.

I had them over a four month period, they also set the gadget they use on a very low setting as I couldn't handle the pain. I hope the change in standing helps!

I have tried tumeric but was later told that you would have to eat pounds of it for it to work - rather than the amount provided in supplements.

I have lots of steroid shots that work to varying degrees - but like you wherever has been operated on, injected etc is OK for a while and is then as bad as ever.

I keep moving but I realised when it was icy and could not go outside that I felt so much better when I didn't overdo it !