What should be done to get rid of tendonitis in foot?

Everyone faced unpleasant symptoms of various diseases of the foot. One of the most common diseases is tendinitis. Recently doctors have conducted studies which made it possible to find out the main causes of tendinitis of the foot: excessive exercise, infectious processes in tendons or joints, age-related deviations, violation of metabolism, mechanical damage, pathology structure of the skeleton and side effect of drugs. Modern technologies allow identify quickly the cause of tendinitis and discover level of inflammation. Thanks to such technics we are able to start treatment quickly; thereby we increase the effectiveness of therapy. So we will get rid of the disease as soon as possible.

The tactics of treating tendinitis are largely determined by factors that caused the disease. When it comes to damage of foot which was caused as a result of the injury the treatment measures are often allowed to be implemented at home. The main thing is to visit doctor on time to prevent the progress of the disease.

The first method: Home remedies
The second method: Prevention tips
The third method: Medical way
The fourth method: Change the lifestyle
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The first method: Home remedies

Home remedies will help to enhance the effect of regular treatment methods. In any case before implementing home remedy you should definitely consult with your doctor. In fact, plenty of specialists agree and recommend home remedies. Mostly home remedies are recommended to be used together with the course of medicines or therapy procedures.

Compress of grated potatoes:

Grated fresh potatoes should be mixed with chopped onions.
Everything should be mixed properly.
Then add the same amount of clay as you got of mixed vegetables.
Such compress should be implemented on the inflamed place overnight.
Compress can be covered with plastic or fabric in order to prevent falling apart.

Juices of vegetables are great for healing inflamed foot. Clay is keeping everything together as well as providing additional treatment.

Compress of garlic infusion:

We will take two or three cloves of garlic.
Cloves of garlic should be smashed and mixed with 50 ml of boiled water.
The mixture should be left to stay for few hours.
Piece of textile or towel should be soaked in the mixture.
Such cold compress should be implemented in order to get rid of tendonitis in foot.
Compress should be left on the foot till it will warm up to temperature of the body.

Such procedure can be repeated two or three times a day. You should start feeling better after first day.

Compress of garlic and eucalyptus oil:

Take few cloves of garlic and grate them (or squeeze).
Add some animal fat and few drops of eucalyptus oil.
Make sure that the amount of fat provides nice and paste looking substance.
The mixture is used as a cream for injured foot.

The procedure can be repeated up to 2 times a day. As you noticed garlic is quite often used as a component for homemade remedies for tendinitis. Garlic has enormous amount of extra bonuses and is healing plenty of diseases. In our case garlic is reducing swollen foot and heals inflammatory process.

Compress with apple cider vinegar:

In order to prepare in advance liquid for our foot we will need: half liter of apple cider vinegar and 100 ml of vodka.
We should add a juice of half of lemon to the liquid.
Such infusion should be left for 3-5 hours to stay and prepare.
After 3-5 hours it is ready to me implemented.
Wipe towel or piece of textile in the liquid and implement on the foot 1-2 times a day.
The amount we prepared will be enough for few weeks.

It is highly recommended to discuss any of above listed methods with your doctor. In order to provide the best possible treatment we should be aware what caused the disease.

Warning: Also you should keep in mind that while getting rid of tendinitis we should stay away from hot compresses. Compress hot as 50 degrees (Celsius) causes swelling after injury and accelerate growing of bacteria in case of infectious process. Most compresses which should be applied should better be room temperature.

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The second method: Prevention tips

Although it may not be possible to prevent tendinitis of foot completely you can take steps to reduce the risk:

Gradually increase your activity level. If you are just starting to exercise and plan to do it on the regular basis you should start slowly and gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts.
Avoid activities with excessive force on the foot. First and main rule is warming up. Always warm up your muscles before long and difficult trainings. If you all of a sudden feel pain or unpleasant feeling you should stop immediately.
When you exercise it is important not to forget about stretching as the final stage. It is also not recommended to perform one exercise for a specific muscle group for a long time.
Always avoid long monotonous exercises for the same group of muscles and heavy lifting with straight legs.
Choose your sport shoes very carefully as well as everyday shoes. Shoes you wear during exercise should provide help to relieve tension in the Achilles tendon.
Stretch out on the everyday basis. Take some time to stretch your calf muscles in the morning before exercise and after exercise. Stretching will help to maintain flexibility. This is extremely important especially to avoid a repeat of tendinitis in foot.
Strengthen your calf muscles properly. These muscles should be strong. These muscles face stress and a lot of physical activity.
Additional activities. Alternative activities such as running and jumping are highly recommended. Of course stretching and additional preparations should be done. You can also add such activities as cycling and swimming for additional resting and training of foot.
In is recommended for professional athletes who have a risk of developing tendinitis of the Achilles tendon not to miss the training regime. It is necessary to perform constant and step by step increasing trainings. Also runners for example need to take care of the correct running technique. Experts advise all professional athletes to avoid overloading in order to avoid damage to the muscles, ligaments and tendons.
Regularly have some rest. Many people neglect the precious free time. They are trying to do more work. It is absolutely needed to your body to devote at least a few hours a day for rest. In this case your foot muscles will not be constantly in tense. Let’s say they will have relaxation during their everyday holidays.
Perform your daily exercises to strengthen the joints of the foot. Then your feet will be able to face activities without injuries.
All this will help prevent the occurrence of tendonitis. Always pay attention to duration and schedule of the trainings. Concentrate your attention of clothes you wear together with shoes. Always slowly increase the intensity of the exercises.

Warning: In case you experienced tendonitis before and you do not want it to occur again you should start your trainings with the professional trainer. Inform your trainer on the injury you had and he will help you to learn the basic rules how to prevent unpleasant experience to happen again.

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The third method: Medical way

If we know for sure that we are experiencing a stretch of tissues and not a break than we at this stage should concentrate on the conservative therapy.

Conservative therapy:

Limitation of all kinds of extra activity on the foot, and complete its immobilization.
Application of a cold compress (ice is perfect solution for this or any type of cold vegetables from the freezer) on the foot to reduce swelling and possible hematoma.
Implementation of special fixing bandage on the foot. Usually such bandage will be recommended by your doctor and can be easily found in nearest pharmacy.
Very common solution is consuming drugs. The purpose of such medicines is to reduce inflammation and pain (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications).
Physiotherapy is highly recommended. Usually you will need to go through the course of 8-10 or 12 procedures of one or few kinds of physiotherapy. Physiotherapy is quite progressive and is used all over the world (ultrasound, UHF, microwave currents, magnetic therapy and ultraviolet irradiation).
Therapeutic physical training (such training are usually performed on the simulator) are great solution to strengthen the tendons.
Correction of flatfoot in case of such is widely provided using insoles or orthopedic shoes.
Sometimes it is recommended to set the plaster cast. With such a cast it is not recommended to prescribe painkillers. Only exception is when patient is experiencing severe pain in tendons.

Unfortunately conservative therapy might not work out for everyone. It will not mean that you made a mistake or didn’t try well enough.

Surgery:

Surgery may sound scary but don’t you worry! Surgery is widely used and usually they help our body to heal quicker.
Depending on the level of damage injured tissue can be shortened or some areas with degenerative-dystrophic changes can be removed.
In some difficult cases plastic surgery is performed.

Usually patients after surgery are assigned for special stretching of tissues in order to restore their elasticity.

Rehabilitation:

Sanatoriums or special hospitals are used as a recreation and healing places. Usually patients, especially athletes, stay in special houses where they are assigned for physiotherapy.
Time heals. Usually exercises should be performed for healing tendonitis in foot rehabilitation period at least for few weeks. Exercises should be regular and assigned by the doctor.
Avoid treating yourself on your own. It is always easier to heal tendonitis than any type of chronic processes. Proper medical support is absolutely must.
Massage is prescribed in cases of chronic processes. Massage should be performed by special medical personnel.

Usually rehabilitation period takes place for approximately 2-3 month. After the rehabilitation new trainings can be performed in 3-4 month only after approval of your doctor.

Warning: In case you notices first signs of disease the best and only way to react to that is immobilize the foot, apply very cold or icy cold compress and visit specialist to get the prescription for the necessary therapy.

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The fourth method: Change the lifestyle

In case you already faced the disease before you probably know how unpleasant experience was and you will avoid repetition of such by all means. In fact, in case of good and correct treatment you can completely eliminate disease and fully restore functions of legs. You should remember that now when you faced the problem you will need to change your lifestyle radically. In some cases, especially for professional athletes it can be a real challenge.

Eliminate stress on the foot. Even regular walking can cause the repetition of the disease.
Stay away from all types of sports (amateur or professional level) as well as limit your movements at all.
In case of extra activity or skipping the recommendations you can make problem worse and even need a surgery. Keep in mind that after surgery it will be never (unfortunately never) possible to use the leg the same as it was used before. After the surgery you will be restricted to perform extra activity for the rest of your life.
Always have a doctor’s telephone number just in case. It is always better to visit doctor and hear that everything is going well instead of deciding upon results on your own. In case even you have medical degree or your relatives faced disease before do not use the same therapy or medications. Find a foot wound care doctor and get proper treatment. Each tendonitis is unique and personal.
Leave the sport and other physical activities to prevent progression of the disease and the possibility of surgery.
Often, the patient needs to interrupt their activities for the duration of treatment. It can be a challenge for workaholics. You should be smart and understand that only with treatment and rest the therapy is giving positive result. Only complete rest can fully recover the joints and tendons.

Warning: Sometimes we feel that we can do more or exercise more. In case with tendonitis in foot it is not the time to experiment with your body. No need to be inspired by some professional sportsmen stories. They had much more time and trainings in order to perform what they can. Feel your body and listen to it.

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