For a number of months I have been working with a lady suffering with an almost immobile achilles tendon. When I first started seeing her she could not flex her toes upwards and this was effecting her calf and translating imbalances up the leg, into her pelvis. She had been having some osteopathic work for pelvic alignment but it was doing nothing for the achilles. She had had an operation on her ankle where two large screws to hold bone together had been utilised and a mass of external scar tissue indicated a similar degree of deeper scar tissue.
She rides horses and couldnt place her left foot into her stirrup correctly and so she ended up sitting in the saddle with one knee elevated compared to the other. This impacted upon the way she rode. She wasn’t sure anything could be done.
When I first saw her I noticed her almost hop on one foot, whilst walking. She couldnt put her left heel down on the floor, so I am fairly certain that would not help her long term. Slowly but surely, we corrected a great deal of the lack of mobility in the achilles, softening the scar tissue and creating much more flexibility. She is currently on maintenance treatment to prevent deterioration, but in between she stretches her calves and has noticed improvements in her riding and her walking. Additionally, whenever she drove long distance she would be laid up with pain for a number of days, and that does not happen anymore.
A great deal of Myofascial Release treatment, predominantly to muscles, ligaments and tendons in the foot and throughout the whole leg, appears to have made the difference. Currently, alongside the maintenance we are focusing on keeping the area stretched and flexible through appropriate exercises. She is riding better and is therefore progressing further with the technical requirements that makes on her.
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