Achilles Tendon Injuries Are Rising Among Athletes
Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health
Briana Mercola
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 14 January 2026
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
- The Achilles tendon, the body's longest and strongest connective tissue, links your calf muscles to the heel. It supports walking and jumping, withstands extreme loads, yet faces rising injury rates across populations
- National U.S. data from 2001 to 2020 show Achilles ruptures are the most common tendon injury, increasing about 3% annually, with higher risk in men and Black patients
- Research indicates Achilles ruptures develop from long-term overload and silent degeneration, worsened by sudden training changes, poor foot mechanics, limited recovery, and metabolic conditions like obesity and insulin resistance
- Certain medications, especially fluoroquinolone antibiotics and corticosteroids, directly weaken tendon collagen, sharply increasing rupture risk soon after use, particularly with higher or repeated doses
- Prevention focuses on gradual training progression, adequate rest, supportive footwear, metabolic health, and sufficient collagen intake from sources like bone broth to strengthen tendon structure before pain appears
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Are you confident your Achilles tendon is strong enough for your next workout? |
| 0:04.0 | Or has years of silent wear already set you up for a tear? |
| 0:08.0 | Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. |
| 0:10.0 | Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go. |
| 0:16.0 | No reading required. Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights. Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. I'm Ethan Foster. |
| 0:25.6 | Today you'll learn why Achilles tendon injuries are climbing, what raises your personal risk, |
| 0:30.6 | how certain drugs change tendon biology within weeks, and what you can do now to reinforce |
| 0:35.6 | collagen before pain shows up. |
| 0:38.6 | I'm Alara Sky. We'll keep this focused and practical. The Achilles is your longest, |
| 0:44.4 | strongest tendon, linking calf to heal and allowing you to walk, run, and jump. It can handle |
| 0:50.8 | forces up to four times your body weight. Yet national data from 2001 to 2020 show ruptures rising about 3% per year, |
| 1:00.0 | and now representing the most common tendon injury in emergency departments. |
| 1:05.0 | Men carry far higher risk than women, roughly a 5-1 ratio by incidents, and black patients show the highest |
| 1:12.6 | overall rates among racial groups. The key point is that this trend spans athletes and non-athletes. |
| 1:19.6 | If you wait for pain as your early warning, you're already late. Degeneration often develops quietly |
| 1:24.7 | over years. |
| 1:26.1 | Those numbers reflect how risk accumulates. |
| 1:28.8 | Rupure is rarely random. |
| 1:31.1 | Repeated overload plus biological weakening sets the stage. |
| 1:35.3 | Abrupt training spikes, like a sudden jump in running volume, |
| 1:39.3 | intensity, or explosive movements, |
| 1:41.7 | stress collagen, faster than it can remodel. |
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