The Achilles tendon is a tendon that comes down from our calves. It inserts into the back of our heels. In our society, we wear a lot of shoes that have heels; even if they’re low shoes or a man’s shoe, it still has a 1”-2” heel on it. What happens is that it ends up causing some pain and inflammation in that region because it ends up pulling. When it pulls, it ends up causing the pain that you are feeling there.

This can also be caused by the change of season. Let’s say it gets nice out, and you end up not wearing those same shoes that you wear all winter long. You end up wearing more of a sandal or a flip-flop type device, or you’re at the beach and going without any device on your feet. That ends up causing a lot more pull of the Achilles tendon, which ends up causing the pain that you end up feeling there.

You can treat Achilles tendonitis with different modalities — anti-inflammatory medication, icing it, physical therapy, stretching it, even custom orthotics.