Dr. Raghu Hiremogalur

Achilles Tendon pain is an orthopedic condition that can originate from tears and ruptures to the AchillesTendon, which is known as one of the strongest and also the longest tendon in the human body. It is a band of tissues that decides the quality of your movements and motions to a great extent, as it connects the heel with the calf. Therefore, any injury to this tendon can decrease the strength and support to the muscles and create a painful situation. So how can you deal with this pain? Read on to know more.

• Rice Therapy: Rice is a commonly used term by orthopedic specialist. It refers to Rest, Ice, Compression with a bandage, and finally Elevation. The patient must take lots of rest as well as use ice packs to deal with the injury and acute pain. Finally, the area must be compressed with a bandage and kept elevated on cushions.
• Surgery: For very severe cases, the orthopedic specialist can recommend surgery as well. This kind of surgery aims at reattaching the displaced or ruptured tendon which may have reached such a fate through a sports or any other kind of injury. The doctor may also place your leg in a cast for a few weeks to keep it at complete rest. 
• Pain Medication: The doctor can also prescribe pain relievers that contain Ibuprofen as well as acetaminophen or even naproxen. These medicines should be taken in moderation as per the doctor's prescription. Usually, this kind of medication is taken only when unbearable pain is experienced by the patient.
• Thermotherapy or Heat Treatment: The use of heat for chronic pain or even pain that has been ailing for over 48 hours is known as thermotherapy. This therapy uses heating pads and hot water bottles to help relieve the pain. One must be careful while applying anything hot to the site of the injury. Use a towel to wrap the hot water bottle or heating pad so that there is no scalding or leaking on to the skin.
• Footwear: It is important to prevent continuous injury and pain to the already injured Achilles tendon. To do this, you must wear supportive and comfortable footwear that has heel lifts and other customized orthotics built into the shoes. 

Taking care of Achilles Tendon pain is a matter of taking various precautions and supportive actions that lead to better healing.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Orthopaedic stem cell treatment is an advanced branch of medicine, which can only be performed by a handful of physicians across the planet. If you are considering the surgery and the treatment, you should first know the important factors that can have an impact on the same. 

Outlined below are 5 things you should know about the treatment before you schedule the surgery. 

1. Source of the stem cell: The source from which the stem cells have been extracted play a huge part in determining how successful the surgery would be. In case of orthopaedic stem cell treatment, the best place to extract the cells from is the bone marrow. However, in some cases, these cells may be taken from fatty regions of the body and not the bone marrow. This will eventually have an impact on the outcome of the surgery. Bone marrow cells are much more proficient at repairing damages of the bones than stem cells from any other source. 
2. The technique for extracting stem cells: A procedure called the bone marrow aspiration or BMA is used to harvest the stem cells from the bone marrow. However, there is a correct way of doing it and a not so correct way of doing it. For instance, the stem cells need to be harvested using special needles and from several high density spots inside the bone. 
3. Placing the stem cells in the right spot: Just extracting the stem cell properly is not enough. It also needs to be injected at the right place through the correct procedure. The surgeon will use advanced machineries to conduct the surgery, which are essential for the success of the treatment. These could include the use of c-arm fluoroscope, other one is called the ultrasound or may be even an arthroscope. 
4. The correct dosage: This is a gray area, as knowledge needs to be further refined about the precise dosage required for the treatment. Specialised instruments and digital centrifugation systems help in  acquiring and concentrating the necessary amounts of stem cells for the procedure. 
5. Understanding that the treatment works: Since stem cell treatment of any kind is a fairly new concept, most people feel that it may not work as advertised. However, if you go to a reliable facility where such surgeries are performed, you will get to know that not only does the treatment work but there have been several patients whose quality of life has improved greatly. Joint preservation surgery is the field which specialises in management of various conditions by these procedures.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!