Training, Achilles tendon problem

Have been going through achilles/heel problems and biking has been helping the most. Maybe the pedal motion is stretching things.
 
Rest has been the answer, a vast improvement and i have been careful not to pile on the pounds by watching what i eat.
So i will try a gentle bit of exercise this weekend and see what happens.
Cheers
Richard
 
This has been an informative thread. I've been taking pretty strenuous walks up the mountain behind my house every night for the last few months, and lately my achilles on one foot has been killing me. Walking up hills sucks, and the pain occurs when I lift my foot. When I wake up in the morning I limp for the first half hour till things loosen up. It doesn't help that I'm a fata$$.

When you guys say "rest" do you mean you did literally nothing? Light walking? I'll be looking into KT Tape. I'm curious how it panned out for you Devon Deer.
 
I developed tendinitis on my left achilles after a 107 mile/77 hour death march across the Bob Marshall last spring. I'm usually a 25-35 mile per week runner so I stopped that immediately ( yes, did gain a few pounds). Initially didn't hurt much when I just walked but inclines were another story. I made it through hunting season with no issues and am back up to 20 miles per week running. Stuff I did:

Use The Stick to keep my calves/hamstrings loose. I'm sure my tendinitis developed due to tight hamstrings and calves.

Eccentric heel drops with a weighted pack. Normally heel raises will stress your tendon. I started with no weight and on the edge of a stair, used both feet to do a calf raise, lift up my right foot so all my weight was on my left then slowly lower my foot down below the stair. This hurts at first but helps to realign the knotty strands of your tendon. Once I was doing these with no pain or discomfort I added weight, up to a 60lb sandbag. Here is the link of the article I found:

http://www.runningwritings.com/2011/08/injury-series-eccentric-exercise-and.html

Steroids/KT tape aren't really fixes. They may mask the symptom but won't heal. Also anti-inflammatory meds like Advil may help with pain but since blood flow to the tendon is minimal, there isn't really inflammation.

I've had a few foot related injuries in my running career and this was one of the toughest. Be patient and work through it. Good luck!!
 
rest
light stretch
I did like Nmeont
was young though.
severed - hurt like a bitch, long story, i was awake for surgery ???WTF? good ol' tough small town ER
your photo brings chills
SO. chill out take it easy, when it feels better, jog first and build into it, and ensure you stay healthy.
 
The damned thing flared up again.
So eased off the training, but on the advice of an old running friend she advised i buy some sorbothane inserts, well they have made a huge difference, coupled with stretching although not healed they are better.
Cheers
Richard
 
I had injured my achilles tendon a few years back. It would be fine for a while and then it would bother me out of the blue. Wish I would have gotten an MRI and had it repaired because about 6 months after hurting it initially, it completely ruptured. Took about a year to feel like it was back to normal. I would go get it looked at with an MRI and see a specialist.
 
How stupid am I!
I joined a running in club September 2017, I go once or twice a week up to 7 miles on each run, coupled with a park run (5k/3.1miles) every Saturday.
It had all been going so well, my time for the 5k reducing all the time and the weight started to drop off, I was already thinking of adding in some long walks with my pack for my Montana hunt.
Then just over a week ago a guy 20 years my junior tried to beat me to the line in the 5k, now in 2 weeks time I will be 58, but there was no way this guy was going to beat me, so a neck and neck 100 yard sprint ensued, I almost had him beat when I felt pain in my right achilles, and I almost fell over, pretty damned stupid of me, but I am competitive, but equally I need to recognise I am getting older.
I gave it a weeks rest, did a slow park run yesterday, but it has really flared up.
Today I did nothing except RICE, the swelling and pain has reduced, I will leave the running for a couple of weeks, problem is this week I am out guiding, I bet walking in waders in a slippery river will not help the situation, we will see.
Cheers
Richard
 
Last edited:
Heal up Richard! I tweaked my ankle in early April while CrossCountry skiing. It was mid-May before I was able to push harder. I still get a bit of Achilles pain. Talk to a physical therapist if possible for some stretches and ankle conditioning.
 
I'm in the middle of an Achilles' problem as well. I spent two months resting it and trying to fix it on my own. that was a HUGE MISTAKE. My physical therapist, has been helping for the last month and has helped quite a lot. I can now "run" a little and have progressed to six reps of 4 minutes running and 1 minute walking. I think, by late next week, I'll be able to run for 30 minutes straight, but it has been a long slow road, made worse by trying to do it on my own.

In the FWIW department, I have very low abilities to assimilate or produce Vitamin D. Severe deficiencies back in 2009 caused my Achilles to swell up like golf balls and hurt like hell. I wonder if I still have some after effects of that problem, although I have been taking 4000 units of Vit D daily for the last decade which just barely gets my blood levels into the normal range. If you have achy joints, especially tendons, ask to have your Vitamin D checked.

Anyway, one strong vote for a physical therapist at the very least. And now I'm off to do my ankle exercises.
 
I dealt with sore and tight Achilles for almost two years. I saw doctors and physical therapists and nothing really helped. Casually mentioned it to my chiropractor and he said let me take a look. I walked out of his office 90% better on one side and 75% better on the other. The problem was in my hips. Worth a little consideration.
 
A lot of people suggested Ibuprofen and I'm a big believer in Vitamin I. However, I find it is much more useful if used preemptively rather than after the fact. I use 2 tablets before going out for a run, for instance. This precluded me from needing 3-4 tablets that evening and about the same the next day. In other words, 400 milligrams of prevention seems to be worth about 1600 milligrams of cure. Your mileage may vary of course, but something to consider. Tomorrow, I will try to run for 30 minutes straight (about 3.5 miles) for the first time since midMarch.
 
Over 2 years ago when this thread started I had terrible achilles pain. Limped all over the place. Read airlocksniffer's post - #25 on this thread. On his recommendation, I quit hiking for a while and made eccentric heel drops a part of my daily routine. 3 sets of 15 with a bent knee in the morning, and 3 sets of 15 with a straight knee in the evening. First thing I noticed was after 3 sets of 15 there was immediate relief. After doing this for a few weeks my achilles pain was mostly gone, and my calves were a fair bit stronger. I still do them a few times a week, and have not had achilles issues since.
 
Last edited:
This has helped, that was a useful post #25
I also went to a Sports massage therapist, who along with the massage gave me some exercises, but boy, 1 hour of pain was worth the gain, she didn't hold back, it has helped tremendously and I did a gentle 4 mile run on Monday with little detrimental affect, I will stretch and rest up until Saturday when I will try a 5k park run, without a sprint finish!
All that remains now is to get my rotator cuff sorted, I'm beginning to think it might need surgery, but not before the Montana hunt!
Cheers
Richard
Over 2 years ago when this thread started I had terrible achilles pain. Limped all over the place. Read airlocksniffer's post - #25 on this thread. On his recommendation, I quit hiking for a while and made eccentric heel drops a part of my daily routine. 3 sets of 15 with a bent knee in the morning, and 3 sets of 15 with a straight knee in the evening. First thing I noticed was after 3 sets of 15 there was immediate relief. After doing this for a few weeks my achilles pain was mostly gone, and my calves were a fair bit stronger. I still do them a few times a week, and have not had achilles issues since.
 
I had injured my achilles tendon a few years back. It would be fine for a while and then it would bother me out of the blue. Wish I would have gotten an MRI and had it repaired because about 6 months after hurting it initially, it completely ruptured. Took about a year to feel like it was back to normal. I would go get it looked at with an MRI and see a specialist.

Lots of good advise and suggestions, but I would strongly urge going to a specialist and getting it checked with X-ray, MRI, or what have you. It will most assuredly beat rupturing it and maybe there is something they can do before it comes to that. I might have been able to prevent a complete rupture if I had only listened to how the darn thing feels which looks like what you are doing thinking these other tricks will make it better. You won't know the condition it is in unless you go get it checked!

David
 
PEAX Trekking Poles

Forum statistics

Threads
110,816
Messages
1,935,407
Members
34,888
Latest member
Jack the bear
Back
Top