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Any suggestions for getting over achilles tendinitis? (Read 2112 times)

Trent


Good Bad & The Monkey

    Yeah, so AT is a chronic illness once you get it.  It will not go away in 2 weeks.  And it may wax and wane for the rest of your life.  Loads of easy running, PT/massage and ice is really your best bet.  But mostly, time.

      Apologies for dredging, but I searched and this thread was the best I could find ...

       

      I developed what appears to be Achilles tendinitis five days ago.  Mileage over the past couple weeks has been slightly higher than usual, but the Achilles didn't bother me AT ALL until I was in the midst of three days' walking around on hilly and sandy ground (and carrying 20 pounds of golf bag).

       

      The tendon actually feels reasonably good after I rest it, like when I get up in the morning or after a nap.  After five days of rest, it's been getting less sore only in the past day or two (although there's still some low-grade pain).  But I tried running today: utter fail, and the Achilles was more painful the rest of the day.  There's some swelling, maybe a third of the way up from the heel to the bottom of the gastroc, that is pretty tender to pressure.

       

      Anyway, what's the current thinking on how to resolve it?  I want to get back to training, obviously, but I also don't want to make this worse/chronic.

       

      This sounds very much like the acute vs. chronic variety which is what I was dealing with above.

       

      See my answer above.  Icing it every night definitely helped.  I was able to fully heal so that it was never an issue again, I also became pretty religious with the eccentric calf raises (to this day) after I was pain free.

      Runners run


      Why is it sideways?

        Definitely get on it while it is acute so that it doesn't turn chronic. 

         

        Also, try to figure out what is causing the problem--usually hip flexors/hamstrings or calves. The problem may not be where the pain is.

          Weird.  The Internet cautions me that not heeding the pain and trying to run through it leads to chronic tendon troubles.  Then folks here tell me it didn't get better with rest, so they ran through it.  Mine hurts enough that I have trouble walking without favoring it.  Hard to imagine running when it's like this.

          Y'all who ran it away: were you running short-n-easy when yours was as bad as mine is right now?  Did you wait to run again until it didn't hurt so much when just walking?  Despite my rich history of running injuries, I've never had Achilles trouble before -- I really have no idea how to deal with this successfully.

          Nobby: no, we haven't corresponded on AT that I know of.

          DakotaRR: when did you think your Achilles was ready for the eccentric exercises?

          Mikey: thanks.  I'm gonna follow what you did.  When should I expect to run my 2:49?

          Jeff: never been a fan of the chronic, so I would like to nip this in the bud.  I suspect hip flexors play a role, they seem to be a weak spot.

          "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

          -- Dick LeBeau

          Trent


          Good Bad & The Monkey

            Weird.  The Internet cautions me that not heeding the pain and trying to run through it leads to chronic tendon troubles.  Then folks here tell me it didn't get better with rest, so they ran through it.  Mine hurts enough that I have trouble walking without favoring it.  Hard to imagine running when it's like this.

             

            The key is loads of easy easy running.


            Rest can stabilize the underlying pathology.  Your goal is to work it away and to strengthen everything evenly.

            BeeRunB


              Try not stretching it. It's not a flexibility problem, and you might be

              just prolonging the condition. Then work on strengthening your feet.

              There might be an imbalance between your mighty calves and

              your feet (due to stiff, splinty running shoes). Never hurts to have

              strong feet when trying to prevent lower leg and foot problems.


              flatland mountaineer

                I have been battling AT for about three years, stretched, did pt with ultrasound, took time off, ran with it, heel lifts, changed shoes again and again. Nothing worked so I just ran with it. I read an article in Running Times about AT and the only thing I can say I hadn't tried were shoes with stiffer heels that did not stretch the at on every step. I was needing some new trail shoes so decided to try some Pearl Izumi x c fuels instead of my trusty Mizunos. The Pearl Izumis actually had less drop than my Mizuno's but a solid flat heel. All my AT issues were gone in 2 months.......go figure!

                The whole world said I shoulda used red but it looked good to Charlene in John Deere Green!!

                Support Ethanol, drink the best, burn the rest.

                Run for fun? What the hell kind of recreation is that?  quote from Back to the Fut III

                  I'm going to resurrect this again to ask a question on the acute variety. 

                   

                  Easy run yesterday. It was a slog, didn't feel great so took it easy. Plus, it was the coldest day in a couple weeks. Out of nowhere it felt like a bee stung me in the lower inside of my left calf, along the side of my achilles. Cut the run short and jogged home. Minimal discomfort but would get a little stinging feeling every once in a while while jogging home.

                   

                  I don't think it's the posterior tibialis. It's right along the side of the achilles tendon. maybe 6 inches up from the bottom of my heel. it's above the ankle, no ankle pain at all. I can make it hurt by pointing my toes down. It's not an ache, it's a stinging, needle-like pain. Stretching my calf and achilles doesn't hurt at all. Straight leg or bent knee. 

                   

                  So what the hell is it? Did I just pop my achilles? yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, see a doctor. If it doesn't improve in a few days I will. but just wanted to see if anyone had experienced this. 

                   

                  DoppleBock


                    You were running 8-15 MPW? 

                     

                    While you let it heal - Your real need is to build your aerobic base.  That could be done with biking, eliptical, stair climber, swimming, pool running.  I would get up to 4-6 hours per week of other aerobic activity while it heals.

                     

                    The biggest question is why did it happen in the 1st place.  Do you have muscle weakness or imbalance?  Do you have the wrong shoes, a poor stride?  One leg longer than the other?

                     

                    I am not picking on you when I ask the 8-15 MPW - But it just seems really odd that you would have this amount of issues at that mileage without other fundemental underlying problems that should be addressed.

                     

                    After almost two weeks of doctor-ordered non-running, PT, ultrasound, NSAIDs, ice, stretching etc, still only marginally improved soreness. I'm pretty sure the initial cause was new insoles in shoes that had previously caused minor achilles problems when they were brand new at the end of a mild build up in mileage (and by mild, I mean from 8 to 15 miles). Anyone have any words of wisdom? I'm hoping for something like, "yeah, mine was the same and miraculously after 13 days, I woke up and it was completely healed." Getting very fed up with this.

                    Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                     

                     

                    DoppleBock


                      When I fist stated running - I had it really bad for 6+ months.  Almost every night I had the bucket of ice water and super hot water out.  5 minutes in each - repeat 5 times.  Many runs I would scream out load from twinges and the general pain left tears in my eyes.

                       

                      Once in awhile (3-4 times a year) I get soreness for 2-4 days (Never sharp pain) - So I consider it not having an issue in 6+ years.

                       

                      I think my issue was muscle imbalance - My quads were way too strong for my hamstrings and calves.

                       

                      Yeah, so AT is a chronic illness once you get it.  It will not go away in 2 weeks.  And it may wax and wane for the rest of your life.  Loads of easy running, PT/massage and ice is really your best bet.  But mostly, time.

                      Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                       

                       

                        You were running 8-15 MPW? 

                         

                        While you let it heal - Your real need is to build your aerobic base.  That could be done with biking, eliptical, stair climber, swimming, pool running.  I would get up to 4-6 hours per week of other aerobic activity while it heals.

                         

                        The biggest question is why did it happen in the 1st place.  Do you have muscle weakness or imbalance?  Do you have the wrong shoes, a poor stride?  One leg longer than the other?

                         

                        I am not picking on you when I ask the 8-15 MPW - But it just seems really odd that you would have this amount of issues at that mileage without other fundemental underlying problems that should be addressed.

                         

                        Nope, I was running 50-65 mpw. maybe you were looking at the OP? I resurrected an old thread that had some good info in it rather than start a new thread. 

                         

                        L Train


                          It doesn't sound like what I went through with my achilles.  It sounds too high, and I think if you popped your achilles you would know what you did.  AT for me had sharp pain just above my heel, the achilles creaked like a rusty hinge and I could feel multiple bimps.   Soleus?  The stinging has me confused.   George, you're having some bad luck this cycle. 

                           

                            George, you're having some bad luck this cycle. 

                             

                            You have no friggin idea. 

                             

                            In order:

                             

                            1. Posterior tibialis tendinitis, healed
                            2. Quadricep strain, mostly healed
                            3. kidney stone - Thank God, that's gone
                            4. SI joint dysfunction - ongoing
                            5. Soleus?

                              - I think I agree that it may not be achilles. Maybe it is a calf pull. Seeing a massage therapist next week to mash the quad and that calf.  Stretching doesn't hurt but the foam roller does. 

                             

                              ... and I could feel multiple bimps.

                              Clouseau's Syndrome, perhaps?

                               

                               

                              EGH3:not sure if what you experienced is Achilles or muscular.

                               

                              For my AT issue last year, I cycled a good bit through the summer, then slowly started back in a joggywalk mode.  Increased the jog, decreased the walk; increased the overall on-foot exercise and decreased the cycling.  During that time: (1) ice massage (freeze water in a paper or styrofoam cup, peel the cup top away to make a nice massage implement); (2) eccentric heel drops, as slow as you can go and feel free to vary foot angle (pigeon-toed, straight, splayed); (3) massage therapy; (4) strengthen and balance your hips/glutes/lower core; and (5) exercise extreme paranoia about foot placement to never inadvertently put a foot down with lots of dorsiflexion.

                              "I want you to pray as if everything depends on it, but I want you to prepare yourself as if everything depends on you."

                              -- Dick LeBeau

                              DoppleBock


                                 YEs OP

                                Nope, I was running 50-65 mpw. maybe you were looking at the OP? I resurrected an old thread that had some good info in it rather than start a new thread. 

                                Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

                                 

                                 

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