Thanks for the rec on the brace, I like wearing it, and it seems to help. We’ve been doing a lot of reno projects and I’m definitely less likely to have pain when I’m wearing it.
I took two weeks off the bike and skis. It felt really good at the end, then randomly flared up one night, then gone again the next day, which seems odd. I’ve been doing eccentric heel drops, and my left calf is extremely sore, which seems strange, almost feels like doms, or there’s something strained in the upper calf. Maybe they are just super in need of work. That was only up to 20 heel drops, did them on both legs and the right doesnt feel nearly as bad. Going to just keep massaging.
The worrying thing, I hopped on the trainer 2 nights ago, and 15 minutes in became instantly aware of the tendon. Not pain, but aware, after not noticing it during the prior week of rest, or even the one powder day backcountry ski. Makes me think the bike is the issue. I did swap to my enduro shoes (cleats further back) after, and didnt notice it get worse over the next 30 min. I took some video and didnt notice anything. My ankle pretty much stays at 90 degrees around the entire pedal stroke.
Admittedly this is likely overreacting on my part, but having suffered from it, keep an eye on it and make sure it is not a DVT / blood clot. I highly doubt it is, but be aware of any redness / swelling. My DVT occurred while I was in a walking boot trying to treat my Achilles issues.
As for bike setup, get your cleats back as far as you can (I know you said they were farther back on the enduro setup, but get’em ALL the way back) and maybe try lowering your saddle a few MM, no more than 5, and see how that feels.
Thanks to everyone who contributed their experience in this thread. I’m 3 weeks out from an achilles injury. Dropping my saddle 4.5mm, eccentric heel drops, and foam rolling seem to have done the trick-- I’m almost back to 100% now.
Does anyone else have any positive experience with massage guns for achilles issues?
I’ve been using one regularly for a few months now, and it seems to help minimise inflammation and soreness.
The literature on PRP for Achilles tears and tendonitis is questionable at best. There are studies that shows it works, problem is so much of it is industry funded, it’s hard to know what’s real… in the USA, it’s not covered by insurance and it’s wicked expensive. There’s money to be made, there’s people that are gonna figure out how to make it look like it works.
I’ve done a few on folks that want it, and they seem to do well, but people heal Achilles ruptures just fine without it too.
For chronic Achilles tendonitis, it’s almost always a tension issue. Calf muscles are too tight. PT is still the gold standard as far as I’m concerned. Vigorous calf stretching is your best bet. When that doesn’t work, surgery for gastroc lengthening and possible tendon debridement/posterior spur excision.
The other thing that needs to be looked at is could PRP be carcinogenic. There’s plenty of literature to show it helps healing for certain injuries, the question to be learned is when does it shut off
What @Chawski mentioned above about calf tightness rings true for me. Foam rolling my calves is like performing magic for me when I get Achilles issues - some mornings I wake up and can litterally not walk - 15 mins foam rolling completely eleviates it.
What I need to get better at is not waiting until I cant walk before doing anything about it.
Very positive. It helped me both in the short-term tension but also in the long-term tightness of the upper part of the calves. Once, I did a particularly long and energetic session on the calves and since then the “maintenance” has been easier.
Hey everyone… just checking in here. I have been battling Achilles tendonitis since December 2021. I’ve gone through two different rounds of Physical Therapy (two different therapists), and I am currently on a strength training program with the second PT who is also a strength coach. (Been with him since about August 2022.)
I still have good and bad weeks. A very good week was at the end of December, I completed a 260-mile ride with a fair bit of climbing, and had no pain or swelling in my Achilles afterwards. (Gradually increased weekly volume to be able to get to that point.)
However, this week has been a tough week for me, as it started with pain (3-4/10) and swelling of my Achilles tendon on Sunday. I did a 128-mile endurance pace ride on a flat course on Saturday. Given my recent history, I don’t think the ride is what set it off, but I don’t know what did. It just seems “random” to me, and it is very frustrating and depressing. The last flare up that I had was over two months ago. I often wonder if I will ever return to “normal.” I hate it!
Anyway, looks like a lot of good tips in the discussion here; many of which I have heard before, but some of them I haven’t. It is certainly encouraging to hear from those who have struggled with this injury and overcome it. Thank you.
One thing that doesn’t seem to have been mentioned above, but helped me, is foam rolling the top end of the chain. Rolling just the legs would ease things in the short term, but had a very temporary effect - it was only once I started including the back and shoulders that it really got under control. Even though the legs (particularly calves) were where I was feeling tightness, it appears the problem was originating in the back and cascading down to result in achilles problems.
Just chiming in having now been struggling with an achilles issues for the last 2 weeks. Out of absolutely no where one random ride a few weeks ago I started to get pain in my achilles and decided to shut the ride down. All prior weeks etc leading up to that moment was just business as usual on the bike for me and was feeling great.
Since then, I have been in different states of discomfort and pain either on or off the bike. I read all of this thread immediately that evening and have been putting some of it into practice alongside advice I have taken informally from a PT but just when I thought things were getting better they seem to be back where they were…
Things I have been doing…
Bike setup - checked everything; nothing has changed for 2yrs+
Time off the bike to rest - seem to be pain free off the bike after a few days
Time on the bike - can ride z2 for about an hour before starts to really hurt
Massage - calf and underfoot using massage gun; seems to relief some tension
Stretching/ heal drops - seems to relieve some stiffness
Taping - seemed to make it feel better off the bike but might of been a placebo
Ice - worked to reduce pain at the start
PlayStation - take away the boredom of not riding
Booking in to see the PT this week to get it looked at properly and go from there. Mentally a challenge at the moment…hope everyone’s recovery is progressing well - I hope I am not in for a long one…
Bike setup might not have changed in 2yrs+, but you might have. Might be time to get a refit! If not the fit itself, your fitter might even notice you doing something that is resulting in additional strain on that side/achilles.
