I’d avoid running for about 6 weeks. Maybe have some scar tissue? These injuries are notorious for lasting forever. I remember well in my peak running days just bumping the Achilles felt like I was shot. I hate to say it but the only thing that will help (along with PT, etc) is not running… for an extended period (like 6 weeks). Then when you come back start super easy… like 1 mile then a day off. 1 mile then a day off. Week 2 do 1.5 miles, day off… It takes longer than you want but with the Achilles is necessary.
That was my original plan…4 months ago. No running since late May with little change. Time to reconsider the cause. Also going to get an XRay soon to rule out a bone problem. Does not feel like a bone problem in general though
I had varying degrees of Achilles pain over the year, but nothing that stops me totally running though. I do blame myself doing 44km in VFF last October as the triggering point, a little too much too soon. Stupid of me but learnt from there.
Now I mainly feel them when going down the stairs first thing in the morning when they haven’t warmed up. Also mainly at the start of a run or a good long uphill segment, something that is really stretching them. Resting has never helped, I read somewhere it’s best not to rest or over exert, find the middle ground and continue from there, they have improved doing that. I’ve avoid doing any strengthening exercises etc as I didn’t want to over exert them.
I’ve found for me that KT tape is the best way of dealing with it. I’ve tried there taping method (KT Tape: Achilles Tendonitis - YouTube) , uses a fair bit of tape, used in early days and found it made a big difference to how much they complained. I’ll go back to that if they get more painful but not had to for many months now. I do still occasionally use the horizontal piece only, seems a bit of pressure from the tape at the back of the Achilles really works well for me, maybe it’s mental but admit I am surprised it’s worked so well. Last nights 17km in VFF on mainly road, I didn’t use any and had minimal aches/pain from them.
Where on this picture does it hurt? Sounds like not D/E, but A, B or C?
The treatments for insertional Achilles tendonitis (pain in C/D) are very much different from normal Achilles tendonitis (pain in A/B). I have a history of insertional Achilles tendon issues and have had several PTs that told me to do things that just aggravated it.
Tendon also don’t heal by rest. They need just the right amount of stress, not too much stress and not to little stress, to heal.
That’s where mine flares up too. A couple of things that have helped me:
Don’t do calf stretches. It irritates the Achilles in that area.
Spend lots of time standing on your tippy toes (static calf raises). I do this when doing the dishes/brushing my teeth/on zoom calls/etc.
Continue doing calf raises, but don’t drop your heel below level (foot into dorsiflexion). Start with your heels on a book or 2x4. If you can move to weighted calf raises, the better.
Continue to run, but avoid low or zero drop shoes
Lowering saddle (mine was too high causing toe pointing while pedaling)
Finding everyday shoes to avoid pressure in the sensitive area. This is mostly for pain management.
The common thing here is to avoid anything that forces the foot into dorsiflexion (toes up) as it causes the bottom part of the Achilles to smash into the heel bone and the bursa sack that lives there.
So, there is something called Haglund’s deformity. I dont know if you ever heard of it before. Its a huge problem. Gwen Jorgensen got surgery to correct it. I think this is what one of my running buddies have (no matter how much time off he gets, he always have heel/achilles pain).
Not saying thats what you have, but maybe look into it.
Toes pointing upwards, I follow the method on the KT site KT Tape: Achilles Tendonitis - YouTube I find it gives a bit of support, probably the way its been stretched it slightly assists with the loading on the foot. As mentioned before I now get away with just a piece horizontally when required, it goes across the back of the Achilles and I miss out the first long piece from the underside of the foot to the back of the calf.
Maybe that piece across just pushes the slight bump in and stops anything aggravating it now or makes it connect better? I’ve given up trying to understand it all and happy to know it’s a solution for me when pain starts to increase in that area.
I only use zero drop, but have found that pain increases using my Altra Olympus 4’s . When using my five finger shoes things are better, it might we the weight of the footwear or just the minimal shoes let my feet feel the ground and land better… all guess work here!
So this description is exactly what I’ve experienced over the last few months. Irritation, not improvement, with stretching. Baaaad results from zero drop shoes (progressively more irritation and got out of them after a few hours). Pain and regression when doing the eccentric exercises and dropping too low but feeling fine and strong the rest of the range of motion. Not healing with rest. I’m avoiding any pressure with heel cups or rigid shoes for the foreseeable future, which seemed to really irritate it, and I’m going to start doing some very slow running and walking to start strengthening it up. I also have had no luck letting tendinous and ligamentous injuries rest so that they can heal. It seems to do the opposite.
Thanks all for the responses! It is so helpful to have a body of experience to query. Doctors are obviously helpful (my wife and I are both MDs lol), but they don’t always really understand stuff like aerobic training and overuse injuries, especially if you don’t want injections or surgery.
PS Haglund’s is something to consider, but I don’t have any protrusions or swelling.
@HMG First, always listen to doctor/PT. I have had recurring calf/Achilles issues for years. At the beginning of the summer my new PT prescribed the following warmup:
(1) 5 x 45 seconds static calf raises and hold. Key is to hold it as high as possible for the full 45 seconds. My first thought was this will be easy, it was not! It actually still isn’t and I am assuming it is because I just contract the muscle harder.
(2) 3 x 15 single leg calf drops from a stair. Raise with both legs and SLOWLY lower with one leg. The slower the better.
I’ve done this before every run since the beginning of the summer and no issues so far (and I just finished a 70.3 a couple weeks ago with a PR by 34 minutes). Again, listen to your doctor/PT first. These two simple exercises worked wonders for me.
Look for a doctor that does endurance sports. I found a family doctor that does IM’s and long endurance rides. He has been super helpful because he understands me better than a normal doctor would.
Anyone using rucking as a supplement to running training? I went for my first rucking hike today, I feel like superman walking around the house. I wonder how this is going to translate into running durability. Upper body/core/postural muscles seem to have benefited particularly well.
Had to look up the term rucking. Sounds like my frequent hikes in the hills or on the trails. The 70km classic I recently did on a hiking holiday, carried 23.5 kilos, that really gave a legs a good workout. Legs always feel stronger a few days after, especially when running up hills.
