ACHILLES TENDINITIS - Runners Help

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MileHighFitness
MileHighFitness Posts: 2,298 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone experience ACHILLES TENDINITIS and have advice on home remedy?

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  • loveliveswithin
    loveliveswithin Posts: 2,256 Member
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    I had a friend that had this...pretty brutal. Ice it, rest it, elevate your leg, gently stretch it when you can and drink lots of water. Hope you feel better soon.
  • NEMom80
    NEMom80 Posts: 48 Member
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    Is that from like a strain? I pulled something this morning and I was told it is the tendon, just above the ankle, in the back on the inside. It wasn't too bad earlier but it is starting to hurt more as my day is going.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Tendonitis is irritation or inflammation.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    MileHighFitness wrote: »
    Anyone experience ACHILLES TENDINITIS and have advice on home remedy?

    Self diagnosed?
  • Ann262
    Ann262 Posts: 265 Member
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    I have not had that but dealt with it's close cousin plantar fasciitis. You don't want to hear this but, you have to rest it and let it heal. Ice, nsaids, rest, elevation. It is likely caused by overuse so you have to let that cool down completely then slowly start running again. You may want to take up swimming or cycling in the meantime.
  • MobyCarp
    MobyCarp Posts: 2,927 Member
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    MileHighFitness wrote: »
    Anyone experience ACHILLES TENDINITIS and have advice on home remedy?

    See a physical therapist. Get exercises and stretches to help strengthen what is weak in your running chain, that are also tailored to your specific level of ability and injury. Get homework to do on your own that is custom designed for precisely what you need, not the generic of what most people with Achilles tendinitis need.

    There are a gazillion exercises out there on the internet to help with various problems, but you are (at best) wasting your time with an exercise to fix someone else's problem instead of your own.

    I came down with Achilles tendinitis last September in the wake of the Rochester Marathon. My podiatrist sent me to PT. I ran all of 16 miles in the month of October, with my longest run being under 2 miles. By Thanksgiving was able to run a 10K. From December to February I maintained a pretty normal racing schedule, if a bit off my prior paces; I turned in a PR 8K in March. I would not have got there that quickly on my own, and I never would have found the key exercises my PT gave me from internet searches or generic advice.

    I have a high deductible insurance plan. I had to pay for the physical therapy, because I didn't fill the deductible. It was worth every penny.
  • MileHighFitness
    MileHighFitness Posts: 2,298 Member
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    Update:

    Thanks for the pointers and insight friends.. I typically ignore these types of injuries but this one shut down my T25 routine quickly. Lots of ice and ibuprofen has me walking without pain again.. so good news there. I'm sticking with cycling for the next few weeks to allow the inflammation to subside. Thanks again.
  • LKArgh
    LKArgh Posts: 5,179 Member
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    Ask your dr and do not experiment. Ended up not being able to walk for more than a year from ignoring the pain at first and cycling instead of running.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    MileHighFitness wrote: »
    Update:

    Thanks for the pointers and insight friends.. I typically ignore these types of injuries but this one shut down my T25 routine quickly. Lots of ice and ibuprofen has me walking without pain again.. so good news there. I'm sticking with cycling for the next few weeks to allow the inflammation to subside. Thanks again.

    Be cautious with cycling. If you're riding without good form you can exacerbate achilles tendonopathy
  • RuNaRoUnDaFiEld
    RuNaRoUnDaFiEld Posts: 5,864 Member
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    My husband is currently struggling with it also.
    He has had to stop running altogether, rest. Ibuprofen, and has toe curl and stretches to do.
    Time really is the healer we're being told.

    He's miserable not being able to run though.
    I hope your better soon, don't be tempted to rush it.
  • fionat29
    fionat29 Posts: 717 Member
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    I've had to stop running altogether and I've just had an MRI to see if its a heel spur or not. A heel spur means an operation, but I'm in so much pain I'd rather do that. Seeing a consultant in February (
  • puttputt24
    puttputt24 Posts: 30 Member
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    Research has proven that high reps of eccentric calf raises is a great way to deal with Achilles tendonitis
  • a_candler
    a_candler Posts: 209 Member
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    My teenage son has this. He has flat feet so not sure if that caused it or not. Anyway his Dr prescribed stretches. His Achilles has become shortened and tight, causing him to walk/run diff to compensate. So he needs to stretch it out. 30 sec stretch, 20 sec rest, repeat at least 5x. Then ice. He said it can take a bit to get it back to normal.
  • fishgutzy
    fishgutzy Posts: 2,807 Member
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    I had tendinitis in my Achilles tendon way back when I was in college. Crutches for a week. Stay off it. That was >30 years ago.
    I have no idea what medical advice is these days.
  • DavidPiper1970
    DavidPiper1970 Posts: 1 Member
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    Hi, I'm a Podiatrist in the UK and see lots of patients with Achilles tendinitis and tendinosis. I hope this helps without sounding too negative. The underlying causes can vary considerably and can include high BMI to mechanical issues with the legs / feet to localised trauma from footwear. Your foot has 26 bones, 33 joints and over a hundred tendons and ligaments. It's like a fine Swiss watch with lots of moving parts and every one of these structures can suffer a multitude of problems specific to them and their structure and function. Problems with ranges or quality of movement, physical asymmetry, timing asymmetry, injuries (current and historic) changes in structure and function i.e. osteophytes at a joint limiting the movement available, overloading etc etc etc can lead you to this point. Your body is the most valuable thing you own and its worth giving it some TLC. If you have a nice BMW it probably gets serviced at a main dealer. I recommend taking your feet to their main dealer - someone who knows them inside out and is a specialist rather than guessing, using Dr Google or someone else's treatment plan for their identical problem that is caused by a different set of underlying issues. In the short term It is best to rest, not to cure the problem but to reduce the risk of further more serious damage including rupture that will require surgery. See a Podiatrist at the earliest opportunity who can assess your specific situation and tailor a treatment plan to help you. NSAID's can improve comfort but it's worth noting that they can also reduce the urgency to identify and manage the underlying issue, allowing ongoing soft tissue stress to continue to cause damage. Whatever the cause, it's worth being aware that this is just one symptom and it's quite likely other structures may be affected, even if they haven't become apparent yet (see plantar fasciitis comments already posted). We frequently use radial shock wave therapy and bespoke orthotics with patient specific prescriptions to assist but only once we have established the underlying cause and have taken appropriate measures to address it / them. I hope that this helps and that you get sorted soon. The pain is really annoying but in my experience it's not being able to do the everyday things that annoys my patients the most. If you need help locating a Podiatrist in your area specialising in biomechanics and gait assessment let me know and I can probably put you in touch with someone. Good luck! and keep us posted with your progress.

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