The Achilles tendon is a strong band of fibrous tissue which joins the muscles of your calf [Gastrocnemius & soleus] to the heel bone [calcaneus]
─
The achilles tendon stands as the strongest & largest tendon in the body and serves the function of transmitting power from the calf into the heel and foot. Therefore the achilles tendon plays and important in everyday activities such as walking, running and jumping
─
This tendon can withstand very high forces, however due to it’s limited blood supply, is very susceptible to injury. Injuries can include tendonitis’, tears, ruptures and bursitis’
─
Symptoms of an achilles injury include swelling at the tendon, pain with weight-bearing and stiffness at the ankle. Here are some exercises that you can perform to help speed up your recovery rate
─
Isometric calf raise
Bent leg calf raise
Eccentric calf raise
Weighted seated calf raise
─
Remember to consult a health care professional before commencing these exercises
Have you injured your hamstring? One of the most common injuries in sport is a Hamstring strain. The Hamstrings are three separate muscles of the posterior thigh that help flex the knee and extend the hip!
One of the most common mistakes individuals make with rehabilitation of a hamstring injury is that they only focus on the hamstring and not the structures directly above it, such as the gluteal/buttock muscles
The gluteal muscles like the hamstrings are a powerful hip extensor and together have a synergistic role. Weakness in the gluteal muscles can often mean the hamstrings are overloaded and susceptible to injury. This is why gluteal strengthening forms an important part of the rehabilitation process
Here are 4 exercises for the gluteal muscles and hamstrings to speed up your recovery process
