Fastest way to heal achilles tendonitis

I've had mild achilles issues that took me out of action for short periods. What I did to get healed (no pun intended) was to wear trainers (to keep the heel elevated) all day when walking around. No sock/bare feet around the house at night. No sandals. No flats when running or spikes when racing.

This took some of the stress off the achilles and allowed it to heal faster, I believe.

If your problem is more serious, I don't know what will help. I don't think stretching is a good idea until the inflammation and tenderness are completely gone.

I spent 2 years battling this. I kept coming back too soon. My advice would be to do no running until you can squeeze the tendon and feel no pain. Good luck.

Ice, Advil, Don't run

Like so many running injuries, I found that repeated icings, rest and patience are what is required for AT. I also massaged and stretched my calves thoroughly.

There is a 99.999% chance that it was caused by your shoes. You can cut out the backs of them, that is remove the achilles rippers from each or do what I found to work the best, run in Huarches and gradually phase in minimalistic shoes with no (or soft) heel counter. Press on the back of your shoe and try to make it fold into the shoe. If it won't go, your shoes suck. Most racing shoes pass this test. Most trainers do not.

AT can be tough to get rid of. You really need to rest it, take NSAIDS, and ice it until the pain and swelling are gone. Putting a heel lift in your shoes can help, but you don't want to become reliant on it. Once you are to a pain free point, work on strengthening and stretching your calves. I actually did some strengthening before I was completely pain free and it paid off. Do a search for eccentric calf raises.

eccentric calf raises and ice as often as possible. No ice pack but ice right on the skin. Aaand cut off parts of the heel cap if it puts pressure on the heel. If you race while in pain, you are out for some months or years. Good luck!

I've had it twice. Both times I have just reduced my training load and pretty much just waited for it to heal. I kept doing workouts which is probably not the smartest thing as my achilles was inflamed and creaking with movement, but it never got worse. I heated before runs, ice massage after, and took ibuprofen. It just kind of eventually went away each time. I know it sucks. Good luck.

I had achilles tendonitis for about 3 months, and I couldn't seem to get rid of it either. I was informed by a coach to try and take Alfalfa. He told me at the time that he knew a couple of runners who have taken it, and it got rid of their tendonitis. So I took his advice, and after about 2-3 weeks, it was completely gone.

You can pick up this stuff at a GNC store. It says it's a dietary supplement, but nothing affected me. If you're willing to do that, I would strongly suggest it, becaue the results I found were amazing.

Fat Boy wrote:

There is a 99.999% chance that it was caused by your shoes. .

No, actually there isn't.

Call it a season. Take a break then come back healthy.

I was told by the doctor today that rest doesn't help as much as running light, is there any logic to this?

Thanks everyone for your replies?

Sorry, I didn't mean to put a question mark.

I had 5 sessions of ART and that seemed to help alot, it basically cured me, I trained through the AT injury which made it worse...big suprise.

Had an achilles problem in spring of 2000, ran with it the whole summer, took a month off in December, came back, ran with it until the next spring, finally took the entire summer off (3 months). Haven't had a problem since. It may take a while to get rid of.

Alan

Ultrasound really has worked well for me on-and-off over the last 25 years. I highly recommend it if you are trying to salvage a season (I have done this many times). It is expensive and you usually need a prescription from a doc. It is hard to find places that have them too. When I was in high school, I knew a number of world class milers that owned their own machines.

There is a very good way to work through achilles tendonitis while still being able to run. A taping technique called the achilles assist removes a lot of the stress off of the tendon and allows you to actually run through the injury. When you are not running - ultrasound, some stretching, and ice/heat are your best bets. Most people have never heard of an achilles assist but it has worked miracles for me when I have had bouts with this tendonitis and hopefully it will help some of you out.

What does ultrasound do exactly?

And how do you wrap your achilles correctly?

I've also heard about injections that really cure it.