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Larry M.
Larry M. Sendmail

Achilles Tendonitis

posted 11 months ago | Report

Do any runners out there have real life experience with reoccurring Achilles Tendonitis? I have a serious problem today and it is a repeat of last fall. Calf is swollen massively and pain from the Achilles up is more or less constant. I don't really have much hope with orthopedist because typically the first words out of the mouth is take 3 or 4 weeks off. I can read Wed MD and treat this with ice and elevation and a routine of Naproxen. Which I have been doing since last Friday. (this popped back up Thursday). I'm down to a slow walk (limp) of a couple miles Monday and Tuesday of this week. I have (I hope) a Half Marathon on Labor Day (Sept 2nd) so I'm in trouble. Anybody ever fixed one of these? How about these support sock like braces that wrap the Achilles and go up to calf and fit inside the shoe? Pricey but if it worked ongoing?? Has anyone tried one of those? Thanks much for any advice. Larry

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  • Brian W.
    Brian W. Sendmail

    All injuries are cause they do not just happen. The standard R.I.C.E. Rest, ice Compression & Elevation are the first stages to cure the symptoms but they will return as soon as you start again if you do not find the cause & cure that. without seeing you run it is difficult to be exact. here are a few suggestions. Land flat footed DO NOT land toe first. Make sure you do not push of from your toes instead lift you feet up from the ground as if you were pedalling a bicycle concentrating on lifting your foot up so you are hardly using your Achilles. you may wish to use an insert in the heel of your shoes as a temporary measure until the problem is cured. Stretching of any injured area should be done very carefully only the lightest of stretch so you barely notice it stretching. Achilles injuries are notoriously difficult to cure and can take several months to clear up completely.Taking anti inflammatory medication will also help. good luck

    posted 11 months ago | edited 11 months ago

  • Larry M.
    Larry M. Sendmail
    in reply to what Brian W. said:All injuries are cause they do not just happen. The standard R.I.C.E. Rest, ice Compression & Elevation are the first stages to cure the symptoms but they will return as soon as you start again if you do not find the cause & cure that. wi... read more

    Thank you. I will review my running form. I guess when I think about it I do use the heel a lot. I'm heavier than I should be (or wish I was) so that probably just compounds my problem.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Morey B.
    Morey B. Sendmail

    I've had a lot of achilles pain in my life- but mine is more tendonosis (degradation), rather than tendonitis (inflammation). I've never had anything like you describe. If your calf is swollen and you have constant pain (i.e. not just when you run)- you've done something bad to it. Some kind of tear/injury. Doesn't sound good at all. Normally I'm a proponent of 'active recovery', but if you're limping when you're walking- then I think it's time to put your leg up and let it heal. Although- if the inflammation and pain are great- you may have done damage that will require medical attention.

    Hope I'm wrong, but it's unlikely that you'll be running that half mary on Labor Day. Although- things look good for the labor day HM in 2013.

    posted 11 months ago

  • Michael D.
    Michael D. Sendmail

    Hey Larry,

    Achilles Tendinitis ruined my year last year... I was unable to run at all. After Ultra Sound therapy, a crap load of toe raises (physical therapists orders) i started getting better. This year I lost 50 lbs as well so that's been huge.

    I still get sore, but I usually down an advil and I have a neoprene sock thingy that helps a lot. The RICE thing works to a point but if your not getting better... seek help from a therapist or sports doctor...

    posted 11 months ago

  • Kris B.
    Kris B. Sendmail

    Good point by Brian. I had back trouble (ended up blowing out a disk) and doing a lot of my own research figured out that a lot of muscle imbalances over the years actually caused the problem. As long as I keep doing the right strengthening and stretching I can keep it under control.

    Now I'm dealing with achilles tendonitis, nothing as bad as yours, but I have yet to figure out what the underlying cause is. I've never had it before, so its frustrating. But with my back issues it took a while for my rehab to have an effect, so for now I'll keep doing very gentle stretches and light calf raises, and hope for improvement over time.

    If you find anything that works, let us know!

    posted 11 months ago

  • Johnny N.
    Johnny N. Sendmail

    After being out for almost a month with what I suspect was insertional Achilles Tendonitis, I did three things religiously to get back into running: ice, eccentric calf raises, and foam rolling. I only ice about once a week now, but still do the eccentric calf raises and foam rolling almost everyday and haven't had the tendonitis since.

    Also, I threw away my zero drop shoes that I was toe running with and started mid-foot running like Brian W. suggested.

    posted 10 months ago

  • Tony U.
    Tony U. Sendmail

    Yup had AT and it only went away with a 6 month break from running. You'll aggravate it more when running races, fast downhill, or during your hill workouts. Light runs (60% effort) on flat surfaces won't affect it so much.

    Based on your description, it sounds worse than AT. Be careful. Treatment wise, ice 15 minutes, then heat 15 minutes back and forth for an hour. Also run with heel lifts. Finally, if racing, say a half marathon, do not overrun your first 3 miles. In fact, you should crescendo to your race pace. So, for example, if you run a 5:25 min/mile pace, start off slowly at a 6:50 pace during mile 1, then a 6:30 pace to mile 2, a 6:00 pace to mile 3 and by mile 5 running at the projected 5:25 pace.

    Hey be careful man and good luck.

    posted 9 months ago

  • Keith D.
    Keith D. Sendmail

    I'm dealing with a back injury and have cut back my miles greatly over the past 3 weeks. Thus, I was surprised to start feeling pain in both of my AT's a few days ago. I have some idea of AT problems having partially torn one a few years ago. I found some comments on another site, and besides the comments below, it was suggested to try the following supplements (and stop using ibuprofen), L-lysine, L-glycine, and glucosamine sulfate. Not sure if they are ad's for GNC, but I might give them a try.

    posted 9 months ago

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