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Achilles advice please (Read 195 times)

mrmky


    I'm a new runner, less than a year and its been off and on. I have a hard time remembering I'm 42, not 22. Early this year I got over ITBS and immediately jumped into achilles tendinitis. I've run over 400 miles since then nursing it along. I have been getting astym treatments for the last month which seem to be helping,  but I'm starting to worry about being able to run my 1 st marathon which is on oct. 5.

    Does anyone have some experiences that might help?

      Are you doing eccentric calf raises?

      Runners run

      bhearn


        Are you doing eccentric calf raises drops?

         

        FIFY

          There's lots of good guides online for heel drops, including videos. Keep in mind that the protocols involve a mix of both straight leg and bent leg drops, and that tendon problems at the insertion point require a different approach than pain higher up.

          mrmky


            The pain is just above the top of the back of my shoe. I have been hit n miss on the heel drops. Does it matter when they are done? Before a run, after? Single heel drops cause some discomfort, so I usually do both heels when I do them.

            It's starting to seem like every therapy I read about is countered by the next one. Run vs don't run, stretch, don't stretch. Apply ice, apply heat, apply both, etc etc.

            bhearn


              Do them after every run.

               

              When I started doing them a few years ago, I built up starting with double-leg drops, gradually built up to 100 after every run, then switched to single-leg; now I do 75 per leg. Do them even when the pain is gone; it's preventative. Your calves and Achilles will be indestructible.

               

              That said... even with the above, I did develop some more Achilles issues a year ago, due to lots of extra hill work training for Western States. The last thing I did before it completely resolved was ultrasound.

              northernman


              Fight The Future

                There's lots of good guides online for heel drops, including videos. Keep in mind that the protocols involve a mix of both straight leg and bent leg drops, and that tendon problems at the insertion point require a different approach than pain higher up.

                 

                What is the different approach needed?

                   

                  What is the different approach needed?

                   

                  Here's a pretty decent summary of the differences.

                   

                  Also -- interesting story about why the doctor that developed the protocol was doing them. He wanted to deliberately rupture his tendon, and got the opposite result.

                    The pain is just above the top of the back of my shoe. I have been hit n miss on the heel drops. Does it matter when they are done? Before a run, after? Single heel drops cause some discomfort, so I usually do both heels when I do them.

                    It's starting to seem like every therapy I read about is countered by the next one. Run vs don't run, stretch, don't stretch. Apply ice, apply heat, apply both, etc etc.

                     

                    Definitely after the run, not before. AS always, stretching should be done on warm tissues, never on cold tissues

                     

                    Agree with you regarding single versus double. Singles were painful and seemed to be counter-productive. Doubles should never cause pain, and in my experience, are more effective.

                     

                    I lined up for my first marathon convinced that I would be a DNF. But I got through fine thanks to an ankle brace (CEL) and taping done the day before at the expo. You shouldn't have to tape permanently, but useful when you get an outbreak and you want to keep running. I also laid off for a week or two at one stage, but not more. ANd last but not least, I do ankle exercises every morning before getting out of bed, and every night in front of the tele: dorsi and plantar flexions, followed by rotations.

                     

                    Oh, and I also started walking barefoot around the house. Any heel, even a small heel on a house slipper, will shorten the tendon, which means it is stretched abd torn even more when you run. For the same reason, I wear a Streassburg sock at night, alternating left and right each night

                     

                    I'll stop before I think of something else.....

                    Personal bests (bold = this year): 5K - 23:27 / 5M - 38:42 / 10K - 49:31 (track) / 10M - 1:24:26 / HM - 1:51:17 / M - 3:58:58

                    Next races: NYC Marathon, Nov 2014 

                      Eccentric hill drops also help me to solve my Achilles problem. I now do it before and after every run to prevent the Achilles problem.

                       

                      When I had the issue, I read a lot. Some people say Achilles issue is usually triggered by calf and other leg muscle weakness and if you overuse those muscles continuously, you may get the Achilles tendinitis. So it may worth to do plenty of gentle stretches after a run and probably some leg muscle strengthen. I do Yoga once or twice a week to recover my muscles. I like these Yoga for runners on Youtube.

                      Yoga for Runners: Pre-Run with Fiji McAlpine

                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9ks2LFQ-XI

                      Yoga for Runners: Post-Run with Fiji McAlpine

                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Hf_u0AGdEA

                       

                      Yoga for Runners: Injury Prevention with Fiji McAlpine

                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IlzyuRQwsc

                      5k - 20:56 (09/12), 7k - 28:40 (11/12), 10k trial - 43:08  (03/13), 42:05 (05/13), FM - 3:09:28 (05/13), HM - 1:28:20 (05/14), Failed 10K trial - 6:10/mi for 4mi (08/14), FM - 3:03 (09/14)

                      mrmky


                        Thanks everyone! I rotate running shoes now, with different heel drops. I use a zero drop on recovery runs, and I think a 10mm drop on any other day. I have always barefooted around the house and just got some VFFs to start wearing whenever else I can. I also test drove some new shoes w bigger drops and more cushion but absolutely hated the way they all felt on my feet, which is why I am trying the other route, shoe ware that always provides some stretch.

                         

                        The heel drop links were very helpful, thank you.

                         

                        i just did a 40 minute tempo run at around 8:30/m which is faster than I usually go. The pace was easy to keep, after my first warmup mile and my heels loosened up. I will avoid any and all sprinting for a whileAngry, but I have recently run 400s at paces down to 1:17 just to test the waters and haven't been any more sore than other runs. Am I being too aggressive? I'd like to start doing more long runs again and some more tempos as race day gets closer.

                          Sorry to hijack a bit. I have somewhat chronically tight/sore calves & achilles, although generally not debilitating. I know I should be doing the calf raises/heel drops but never have, I just do the normal calf/achilles stretches post-run. More recently I have pain at the very top of my calf, behind the knee, which has actually kept me sidelined, as the pain increases while running. Likely related to general calf/achilles tightness? Should also be helped by the calf raises/heel drops?

                          Also: what are people's opinions/experiences with compression socks/sleeves?

                          Dave

                             

                            Also: what are people's opinions/experiences with compression socks/sleeves?

                             

                            I wear the futuro compression dress socks quite often. I had major calf issues for quite a few years and these are a necessity for me in terms of recovery and over-all calf "feel goodness."

                            bhearn


                              More recently I have pain at the very top of my calf, behind the knee

                               

                              Sounds like the popliteus. It can be hard to reach; I'd find a good massage therapist. You want to be careful with self-massage because of the popliteal artery.

                                 

                                Sounds like the popliteus. It can be hard to reach; I'd find a good massage therapist. You want to be careful with self-massage because of the popliteal artery.

                                 

                                Ha, that was actually my original self-diagnosis, based on Dr. Google. But I did go to a massage therapist (who does great work for the rest of my calves); she thought it was probably the soleus, and the massage didn't actually help much in this case. Also went to my regular doc who sent me to PT, who says gastroc, where it attaches at the top, & is currently working on it. We'll see, I don't have much confidence in any of the diagnoses I've been getting. I did finally had a 4-mile pain-free run this morning, which was great, although it has been somewhat sore since then. If it will be OK when running but sore the rest of the time, that will be just fine with me.

                                Dave

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