Torn Tendons: Non-Surgical Treatment Options

Like we mentioned last week, proper recovery from a tendon injury is critical to get you back to an active lifestyle. You can only treat your tendon injury or tear properly with an accurate diagnosis from an experienced podiatrist.

Torn tendons can happen in a lot of areas—the Achilles, posterior tibial tendon, peroneal tendon, and anterior tibial tendon. Tears occur from acute (sudden) injuries and from long-term strain with chronic tearing and faulty biomechanics.

Your podiatrist may recommend non-surgical options for a torn tendon, including bracing, casting, physical therapy, taping, rest, behavior modifications, and injections—particularly amniotic injections which are very helpful for helping tendons heal without surgery. (These injections are particularly effective when used in conjunction with other treatments.)

In general, tendons heal after 6-8 weeks from the time of injury. It is important to realize that you may not have any pain after a few weeks, but the injury is still healing! Follow-up appointments with your podiatrist will help determine the speed of recovery and allow for adjustments in your non-surgical treatment plan.

If the injury is not healing or has gotten worse, your podiatrist may recommend surgery to repair the torn tendon. This is common in full ruptures and tendon breaks, but not often used for tendon tears.

The effectiveness of each non-surgical treatment varies from patient to patient. This is due to many factors such as the severity of the injury, patient age, and current overall health. Only an experienced podiatrist like the doctors at the FAAWC can give you an accurate diagnosis and help build the non-surgical treatment plan for your tendon injury. Call us today to get started on the path to healing. 740.363.4373

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