Each month I see “new” patients that really aren’t new.

They’ve been struggling with a tendon issue, usually Achilles or Patella, for a considerable time.

1/

They can recall multiple treatments that they’ve received, all helped a bit, But nothing has really changed the playing field and got them back in the game so to speak.

2/

Most of the time the real issue is a lack of progressive loading to the tendon which is a necessity for tendon rehab.

3/

They may have been the right things at the start, bodyweight only or isometric holds for example, but they’ve simply not been progressed enough to make that real change, or not been performed for long enough consistently (tendons need at last 12 weeks loaded rehab).

4/

So the take homes are:

1. Many treatments can calm the symptoms of tendon pain down, but most wont help build the tendon back up.

5/

2. Tendons need to be loaded, progressively, consistently for a long period.

3. The main error in most “failed” tendon rehab is a failure to do this and/or a return to normal activity simply because the symptoms have been eased.

6/6