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What Is the Achilles Tendon? Essay

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What is the Achilles tendon?
The Achilles tendon is one of the largest and strongest tendons in the human body. It is a tough band of fibrous tissue that connects the calcaneus (heel bone) to the muscles at the back of the calf using the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Leg muscles are known as the strongest muscles in the body because there are able to pull against the force of gravity in order to keep the body upright and in balance. The Achilles tendon is an important tendon in terms of mobility because it keeps the elastic energy required for running, jumping and walking. When an athlete tightens their calf muscles, it pulls the Achilles tendon which in turn pushes the foot down. Within the body each Achilles tendon is conditional …show more content…

This type of injury is commonly known to occur in males more than females and it’s more certain to take place on the left side more than the right. An athlete may push off with an affected leg which is similar to what happened to Kobe Bryant or they may be a sudden forced eccentric contraction of the tendon which causes the rupture. The eccentric contraction basically means that the tendon gets lengthened at the same time it is being shortened. There are specific sports which have a more repetitive, strenuous eccentric affect such as jumping which is quite common in basketball players.
One interesting factor is that when an athlete suffers from an Achilles tendon, they may not realise the seriousness of the injury, hence often they can mistake thinking that they have strained or pulled a muscle and that after a while the injury will heal and they are able to continue on playing sport as usual. Generally in most situations where an athlete suffers from an Achilles tendon, they often involved in sports that deal with a lot of running or standing on toes which in turn can cause intense force on the tendon therefore leading to a rupture. An Achilles tendon rupture is generally described as a sudden break with instant pain that is felt in the foot or heel region of the leg. As the injury occurs the pain may spread along the back of the leg and its generally

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