When your Achilles tendon is injured you really know about it! What can you do to look after one of the largest tendons in your body?

YOUR EXPERT

Lisa Posnett is a specialist musculoskeletal physiotherapist who works at Pure Sports Medicine (puresportsmed.com). She is a keen marathon and ultramarathon runner and has a special interest in running injury rehabilitation and prevention.

At the ankle you have the thick and tensile Achilles tendon. Above it and attaching directly to it, are the principal calf muscles, the gastrocnemius and soleus. Achilles injuries account for five-12 per cent of all running injuries, so it’s important to know how things can go wrong and what you can do to avoid this.

The Achilles and running

This structure is prone to injury in runners, particularly with increased speed training, uphill running or those runners who use a forefoot striking style. Virtually all of the force generated when you toe-offthe ground during running is transmitted by the Achilles; this force can be as much as three times your body weight. The faster you run, the more strain you put onto this tendon.

What is the Achilles tendon?

Tendons are at the ends of every muscle in the body. Their main job is to transmit the force a muscle generates to a bone. The Achilles tendon runs from your heel bone (calcaneus), over the soleus (deep calf muscle) upwards to merge into the gastrocnemius (superficial calf muscle).