This article is focused on sports-induced inflammations. An inflamed Achilles tendon or forearm can be very annoying, especially if you want to continue your training routine. Many people don’t take inflammations seriously—they just warm up and keep going. But an acute inflammation can turn into a chronic (permanent) inflammation, leading to muscle atrophy (a condition where muscles and tendons weaken) and, in the worst case, a complete rupture of the Achilles tendon or another affected area. Learn more about sports injuries at Sports Injuries Main.
What is an inflammation?
The word “inflammation” comes from inflammare (Latin) and means “set on fire.” That’s exactly how an inflammation feels. An inflammation is actually your body’s protective response to start the healing process. Interrupting this process and adding more stress to the affected area prevents proper healing.
The biggest problem with inflammations is that they are often underestimated, and the condition worsens over time. Professional athletes, who move from one competition to the next, sometimes rely on heavy medication to maintain performance and fail to fully recover. This can lead to chronic inflammation, which weakens tendons over months or even years. Many athletes learn to live and perform with chronic inflammation, but this is not sustainable.
I personally know five people who first had Achilles tendinitis (inflammation of the Achilles tendon) and eventually suffered a complete Achilles rupture. In all cases, this ended a promising athletic career.
