Achilles tendon injuries, tendonitis or tendinopathy, are a common lower quarter injury among athletes. Studies suggest a lifetime prevalence of up to 25% among higher risk sports including jumping athletes. In our Boulder and Lafayette Physical Therapy clinics we commonly see achilles tendinopathy among our runners and team sport athletes. Most commonly we see this tendon pain in a patient who added too much training volume (mode, frequency, duration, distance, or intensity) too quickly. This can also occur in patients who have done too little for too long leading to tightness and weakness in the leg.
Treatment of achilles tendinopathy involves utilizing an examination to determine the cause of the tendon pain. Commonly a training error, described above, is reported by the patient along with a past history of overuse injuries in the lower quarter. If these past injuries are not rehabilitated with Physical Therapy they can lead to recurring issues. During the physical examination we often see a lack of ankle mobility, calf weakness, and proximal impairments including core and hip weakness.
A recent study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research assessed which impairments are most common among runners with Achilles tendinopathy (Rathod et al. 2025). Researchers compared 23 runners with mid portion achilles tendinopathy to their age matched peers. Authors noted decreased jump performance, ankle weakness (plantar flexion), and hip extensor weakness among the injured group. This is consistent with our practice where we find runners with achilles tendinopathy have weakness in their hip extensors. A key muscle group that assists the calf during the push off of gait.
Click Here to schedule your next appointment with the experts at MEND