achilles tendonitis

[chrislewis76]

hi there, 1st post so be gentle.

I have bad achilles tendonitis in my left ankle and have been refered to physio by my doctor and atos and im still waiting for appointment from either, i have played no sport for 7 years due to breaking my leg at that time and have a letter from my doctor staiting that as i dont take part in any sport the tendonitis is due to my walk duty with royalmail.
Have been told that the treatment i need is shockwave treatment and that it is very good, my doctor refered me to a private practice as this treatment is not done on the NHS and will cost between £600 & £725 depending on number of treatments, though atos provide same treatment but want to start the cost at £1200.
My manager has asked her manager about the treatment and was told they would not pay for the treatment.
My question really is should royalmail pay for all or at least some of the treatment especialy as i have a letter stating that i have this problem due to the nature of my job or do i have to swallow the cost myself.

any help would be much appreciated
thanks, chris

[cyberheater]

I think you need to see a solicitor on this issue.

[phil1966]

join the club, i been off work for 4 weeks. atos physio advised for the treatmant but atos refused.i blame the htc for it.would like to see what percentage of postmen suffer from ankle and feet problems

[DB1100]

Do you know if shockwave treatment would be a permanent cure?,or like plantar fascillitis could it reoccur.Depending on how old you are it might be worth going for I.H.R,your health is the most important thing you will ever have,don't kill yourself doing a job that is causing you problems.

[chrislewis76]

when i mentioned legal advice to my manager i was told maybe if i have this ankle problem the being a postman wasnt the job for me and that maybe i should think about a nice comfy desk job, and questioned why all 44 postman in the office didnt have this problem, im amazed how ignorant and single mided some people can be. will find out if it can reoccur aftre treatment but i think its like most things that there is allways a small chance of things coming back, some people may never have it again where as others may have it occur several times, will speak to atos again and if i get any better info will post on here for people, im sure theres a lot more postman out there with this problem.

[fishtank]

What shockwave treatment allegedly does is encourage the healing process.
What you probably have rather than tendonitis is Achilles Tendinopathy which is caused by repeated damage to the tendon failing to heal properly,tendonitis is more a symptom than a condition.
You will still require rest and physio after the treatment.

[TheCobra]

I have achilles pain every day, it was worse when we did the old methods and slightly better since we went on park and loop and used the LWT. However, I still get quite a lot of pain and have to go through a pretty stupid rigmarole of icing it when I get home and taking 2-4 ibuprofen tablets daily. I'm thinking maybe this is daft, been doing this routine for about 12 months now and really think that long term ibuprofen use and pain from an injury cannot be good things to keep doing to myself.

Never been to the docs with it, so I think it could be time. I agree there surely must be a lot of people with various injuries they are carrying, not as bad as this I wouldn't imagine, but I'm sure there are a fair few walking wounded, then when manager's speak to you it's as if you are the only person in Royal Mail who ever dared to have an injury.

[mr deeds]

i have had this go to your gp he will provide physio if rm wont ...you will have to wait but its worth it...it takes a while to get rid of(the golf ball on your heel when inflammed) but it is cureable...i would suggest eating oily fish ( mackerel or sardines) lubes the joints natualy cheap from aldi or b+m or home bargains if they are near you

[doorstepped]

or even cod liver oil capsules, just don't chew them, bloody disgusting

[careful]

Its a time they had a independent reveiw health and safety aspect using Htc trolley every postmen/women who uses htc in the office have, had some sort injury i.e. back problems, sciatica, calf injury, foot problems, groin strains, wrist injures due pushing down on handle to turn corners and up and down kerbstones since being introduced five-year ago the long-term affects could have severe problems later in life... don't get me stated on the loop to loop vans si yer

[cyberheater]

when i mentioned legal advice to my manager i was told maybe if i have this ankle problem the being a postman wasnt the job for me and that maybe i should think about a nice comfy desk job, and questioned why all 44 postman in the office didnt have this problem, im amazed how ignorant and single mided some people can be..

Go and speak to a solicitor. Usually the first consultation/meeting is free and he will be able to tell you if Royal Mail has a case to answer.

[chrislewis76]

speaking to atos today along with royalmail management, and hopefully getting some legal advice today aswell, will post any helpfull info later today hopefully, cheers for all the advice guys.

[Spaceboy]

I had it for a while, very painful! The physio showed me some simple stretching excercises which I practiced each morning before starting work. Luckily for me I was selected for PDC duty which got me off delivies for a few months and the swelling went down. Now that's finished I'm starting to feel twinges again now and then.
This is defininately an issue that needs looking in to.

[fastandfurious]

Hi, I have been a postie for about 3 and a half years and last year I was off work for nearly 5 months with achilles tendonitis in both ankles. I returned to work in september not 100% ready but I felt I could cope with the help of codeine and the exercises from the physio. It is now april and I am off work again with it. I was told its the job that has caused it and it obviously isn't the right job for me. I have asked my line manager to see if there is a position at another office for me whereby i am not walking so many miles a day. OH Assist are calling me this week for a telephone consultation and I have physio also this week. I can't see this ever getting better just manageable then back to not manageable again. Does anyone have any advice please? Thank you.

[datasaint]

I had Achilles tendinitis within 8 weeks of first starting, got so bad that it felt like the back of my ankle was on fire. Rested it a week and it disappeared, I found stretching exercises were good for it, where you stand on the edge of a step and lower the rear of your foot down. Look at better insoles/shoes as well.