PHYSIOTHERAPIST and international triathlete Melanie Betts from Worcestershire thought her sporting career was over when a long-term Achilles tendon injury flared up last year.

The 49-year-old, who lives at Abbots Morton, near Inkberrow, and is a member of the Evesham Vale Triathlon Club, was competing in the World Championships in Chicago when the tendon started causing her problems.

But through her work as a physiotherapist in Warwickshire, she heard about research trials being conducted into stem cell therapy for her condition Achilles tendinopathy.

Achilles tendinopathy is a condition that causes pain, swelling and stiffness of the Achilles tendon that joins the heel bone to the calf muscles. It is thought to be caused by repeated tiny injuries to the Achilles tendon and is degenerative rather than inflammatory and tends to affect athletes involved in running sports.

Melanie was invited to take part in the trials and was the only athlete involved. She said: “I had to rub a gel into my leg which the tendon absorbed. The gel contains growth factors in a Platelet Lysate gel.

“The growth and repair of the tendon is encouraged resulting in reparation and rebuilding of the collagen matrix or the body within the structure of the tendon itself.

“Over a three-month period I went from not being able to run at all to full run training. I achieved results in a very short space of time, in fact it took less than four weeks, on a chronic problem which had been on and off for 10 years.

“Within the first week to 10 days I started slow jogging and then on the twenty-first day I ran five miles along the waterfront before my final reading.”

“The Achilles tendon was absolutely fine and remained so after all the races. I now need to train more to increase my run speed but I have the confidence the leg will take it. Interestingly my time would have earned me a silver medal in European Championships in the 50-55 year age group which I move into next season.”

Melanie hopes 2017 will be her best year with a high rating in both the European and World Championships and she aims to make the podium at both events. She trains six days a week minimum including two swim sessions, two to three run sessions, and about three bike sessions plus strength conditioning in the gym.

“As an older age group athlete we always expect to have something hurting and the body takes the toll but as long as it keeps behaving itself most of us go on.

“The tendon itself is slimmer than it was so the treatment has re-modelled it. I had a thickened lump in the middle of the tendon, which is a sign of it being slightly degenerative. It has thinned down and is no longer sensitive to squeeze.”

She is aiming to compete in the European Middle Distance Championships in Austria at the start of September and the World Long Distance Championships in Oklahoma at the end of September.

Melanie said the gel is not currently licensed in Britain but she thinks it may become available in the next 12 months or so.