Achilles Tendon Issues

When you pinch the tendon is it sore/painful? If so you're probably well on the way to achilies tendonitis. Nothing to do but rest. I have suffered bouts of this in the past. The key for me is/hs been 1) strengthening your calves. Do seated calve raises and standing calve raises in order to strenghten the calves. 2) lots of stretching prior to running, take alot of extra time to stretch out your calves and achilies prior to running. 3) buy very good running shoes.

If you don't take care of the problem now it will only get worse and the end result could be the need for surgery. So a week off now is better than three months off due to surgery. Good luck

PLEASE REST. You don't want to rupture. IF that happens youwill need surgery and have to take up to 3 months off. Just suck it up for a week and see how you feel.

Hi,
Thanks for the advice. Its been 2 weeks now I've been to a decent running store (the ones where they put you on the treadmill) to get some proper runners and managed to put in a 40 min gentle trot last night with no ill effects this morning so it looks like I am back on it.
Thanks for the stretching and strengthening advice.

After the pain goes away try two things to strengthen and stretch you achilles. Run barefoot at a park once a week. I did this and couldn't believe the stretch my achilles had into my calf muscle. It was a sensation I never experience before. Try jump roping. It is high impact but if you build up slowly you can strengthen and stretch everything in the lower leg real nice.

Mike

Achilles tendonitis is a painful and often debilitating inflammation of the Achilles tendon, also called the heel cord. The Achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the body. It is located in the back of the lower leg, attaches to the heel bone (calcaneus), and connects the leg muscles to the foot. The Achilles tendon gives us the ability to rise up on our toes, facilitating the act of walking, and Achilles tendonitis can make walking almost impossible.

The two most common causes of Achilles tendonitis are inflexibility of the tendon and over-pronation (your feet roll inwards excessively) . Other factors associated with Achilles tendonitis are recent changes in footwear and changes in training schedules. Often long distance runners will have symptoms of Achilles tendonitis after increasing their mileage or increasing the amount of hill training they are doing.


In most cases, symptoms of Achilles tendonitis develop gradually. Pain may be mild at first and worsen with continued activity. Repeated or continued stress on the Achilles tendon increases inflammation and may cause it to rupture. Partial or complete rupture results in traumatic damage and severe pain, making walking virtually impossible and requiring a long recovery period.

If damage to the tendon is minor, the injury may respond to a simple course of treatment known as RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation). For compression, the Achilles Healer ( http://pattstrap.com/achilles.htm) is suggested. The Achilles Healer applies compression to the Achilles Tendon helping to reduce stress on the problem area. In addition, upward pressure is applied to the heel. The lift of the heel will reduce stress and pain of the Achilles tendon.