Achilles tendons - thoughts?

[skywalkerbeth]

Thanks ladies. I actually feel a lot better today. I did not know this could turn chronic pretty easily though - wow.

Sky King, sorry to hear about that. I can't imagine dealing with the discomfort every single day.

The fitter didn't have much to offer other than "bring it in again".

In talking to some people I am really thinking the change must have either caused it or wasn't helpful.

Backwards - more reach - and up - more reach. I'm stretching more than I was used to do, before this...

[skywalkerbeth]

I have a stupid question.

Isn't pointing your toes kind of like wearing heels? I'm trying to figure out "which prolonged position is making it worse".

Heels DOWN means I'm constantly giving the achilles a stretch - right? Are you saying that doing it heels down is better because I'm stretching it all the time.. and pointed toes down (similar to the position when you are wearing heels) is bad.. why? That is not stretching the achilles... it's the opposite of stretching.. right?

Just trying to visualize and understand.

I was at the gym just now, on the treadmill. When I inclined the treadmill I felt a little better. Not great, better.

I dinged my achilles BUT GOOD earlier today. As in, hopping around and cursing. I backed into a deck post barefoot... a good hard one because I was trying to pull a deck glider into place that had moved overnight.

Sky King, when you massage with your hands - how hard? More of a rolling motion?

ps. in massaging my left leg... there is a definite knot about 4 inches up from the heel. I think I dinged it a lot lower than that... not sure what the knot is.

[OakLeaf]

It's not about stretching, it's about not overworking the calf muscles.

[skywalkerbeth]

It's not about stretching, it's about not overworking the calf muscles.

Ok, that makes sense.

[Sky King]

I massage my achilles anyway i can. circular and up and down the sides. I have a giant lump of inflammation and scar tissue so how much pressure and motion depends on day and how sore it might be. Today my left is pretty sore, we rode 40 miles yesterday and even though I concentrate on spinning it still gets cranky.
Keep massaging the calf muscle. Having access to a gym, is there a decent trainer that can show you some good calf strenghtening exercises. I too can walk an up hill all day long but the down is a killer so biking is better as I can climb and coast on the downhill
Am not going to get into the heel down or heel up. As I pedal, I for the most part try to keep my feet level and think about a striding out as if I were walking, so I work my quads and my hams and at the moment I work my right leg more than my left.
Going into the cast with no weight on the leg for six weeks did zippo for me but some say it helped them but it just weakened my calf muscle
okay enough about me, but consider riding the spinning bike at the gym as the impact on the tendon is less than running and walking

I


Sky King, when you massage with your hands - how hard? More of a rolling motion?

ps. in massaging my left leg... there is a definite knot about 4 inches up from the heel. I think I dinged it a lot lower than that... not sure what the knot is.

[jelee1311]

I have had cronic tendonosis from overtraining and last year had to be in a cast for four months. Nothing helped so I had a PRP(platelet rich plasma injection) done it worked for me. My achillies isn't perfect because its super thinand my joints are hypermobile but its waaaaay better. I still do PT exercise and some Rolfing but I've been back to riding for a year. The PRP has few risks it either works or it doesn't but it is expensive and I had to pay out of pocket

[OakLeaf]

The other thing that's getting a lot of attention for tendon problems these days, is eccentric strength training. So you can do calf lowers - skip most of the concentric phase of the exercise by stepping up onto your tiptoes and slowly lowering your heel to the floor. Keep a hand on a wall or bar for balance if you need it. Doing them barefoot (or at least without rigid shoes) will help strengthen your feet, too - which as I'm learning, weak feet can really be a culprit in Achilles problems.

Or you can do them seated on the floor with a strong Thera-Band around the balls of your feet - that really lets you do only the eccentric phase since you can let go of the tension on the band while you point your toes to get ready for the next rep.

[Sky King]

Oh glad to hear that helped. That is the next step for me but as you say it is expensive!

I have had cronic tendonosis from overtraining and last year had to be in a cast for four months. Nothing helped so I had a PRP(platelet rich plasma injection) done it worked for me. My achillies isn't perfect because its super thinand my joints are hypermobile but its waaaaay better. I still do PT exercise and some Rolfing but I've been back to riding for a year. The PRP has few risks it either works or it doesn't but it is expensive and I had to pay out of pocket

[jelee1311]

I- hope if you are a good candidate you can get it done. It was a good investment in me. One year later I'm riding 4 -5 times a week and not in constant pain. That seemed like a better deal than surgery, recovery,and lots of PT and still no guarantees. I also have found that the achilles pain was all relative I have tight hammies, glutes,lower back and if I treat this sytemically I can prevent further injury.