thoughts on KETOPROFEN / LIDOCAINE compound for achilles tendonitis

Your tendon will eventually be destroyed.

are you being serious???? Then why do they make it and why would an orthopeadic prescribe it to me???? Details please

Nitric oxide patches will likely have a better result.

Ketroprofen is a topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Lidocaine is a short-term numbing agent. Neither of these drugs will help heal Achilles tendonitis, and here's why:

1) chronic Achilles tendonitis (more properly termed tendonosis or tendinopathy) is not an inflammatory problem, so an anti-inflammatory drug will not speed healing. This has been confirmed in large research studies - prescription-strength NSAIDs are no more effective at treating tendonitis than a placebo. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1471511) In fact, there is some research indicating that NSAIDs can actually inhibit healing on the cellular level (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17452512)

2) A local numbing agent only dulls pain on the skin; it has no actual healing effect. This could be bad, because you may not feel pain during activity but may still be doing damage to the tendon.

Why would a doctor prescribe something like this? Not all orthopedists are up on the latest research. They learned back in med school that tendonitis is inflammatory and inflammation is bad, so knock down the inflammation and the injury gets better. That's incorrect, but if you don't take the time to read medical and scientific research, you may not be aware of that.

For an in-depth look at treatments for Achilles tendonitis, read this article:

http://www.runningwritings.com/2013/11/achilles-tendonitis-in-runners.html

As far as topical treatments, nitroglycerin patches have shown some promise as a second-line treatment for stubborn cases. That's covered in the above article.

wow, that is a very informative link.