High School Miler: Achilles Tendinitis Ruining Season

Note:

I put in a heel raise after the initial injury.

Doctor:

Went to an ortho on the 12/21. He did an ultra sound scan of my achilles. He made told me of how Achilles Tendinosis has been mistaken for Achilles tendinitis. But he told me I had achilles tendinitis. There was fluid over the tendon on the midpoint. No tear at all.

From my observations:

*Feels a lot better when I have a compression ice ankle wrap on.

*Hurts when I push (palpate)in the pit in between the achilles and ankle on the inside of the leg (anterior?). Also if I did a calf raise, there is some sort of things flexing and protruding out of said pit, and it hurts when I push on it.

*I have been doing calf raises for the most part for the entirety of the injury, not in a structured way though.

*I was using Voleteran for about 2/3rds of the injury.

* I just started to taking some ibuprofen today.

ADVICE!?!?

More Note:

*Today I stopped early enough that it still feels fine right now to walk around with.

*I mainly notice pain when I raise all the way up on my right foot. As far as I can plantar-flex is when it hurts.

*I have been having crepitus on and off throughout the day.

Find a chiro who does Graston. It's not a quick fix - several weeks likely - but it worked wonders for my Achilles problem.

http://www.grastontechnique.com/

Take off a week or two. Simple as that. One or two weeks 4 or 5 months until you need to be ready for track wont kill you. If you keep running or trying work through it, you will get injured. I had achilles tendonitis issues my junior year and it lasted 2.5 months because I just tried to train through it. If I had just taken 1 or 2 weeks off, I probably could have saved my season.

the injury will get worse* sorry that was meant to be were I said you will get injured.

Achilles Tendinitis Miler wrote:

*I have been doing calf raises for the most part for the entirety of the injury, not in a structured way though.

When you say 'calf raises', you mean only eccentric calf exercises right? Be vigilant with those (3x10 at least twice a day, definitely before and after runs too) and add weight (just chuck water in milk containers or something and put it in a backpack, or fill up a bucket and hold it in one hand) if the pain is only down around 2 or 3 out of ten. Even adding 5kg or so will make a large difference.

What was really good for me when i was struggling with tendinitis was cross friction massage. Basically you just press into your achilles firmly and rub back and forth across it. This is like the eccentric calf exercises where moderate pain is a good thing but of course if you're up around 8 or 9 on the scale stop doing it.

Finally just stop doing speed workouts man. That's just crazy when you're dealing with achilles issues. Maybe hit a few tempos or so but nothing where you're really coming up off the midfoot much. You're in high school, don't permanently damage yourself!

ncdjsknckd wrote:

Take off a week or two. Simple as that. One or two weeks 4 or 5 months until you need to be ready for track wont kill you. If you keep running or trying work through it, you will get injured. I had achilles tendonitis issues my junior year and it lasted 2.5 months because I just tried to train through it. If I had just taken 1 or 2 weeks off, I probably could have saved my season.

Every bit of info out there on tendinitis suggests you're wrong. Definitely avoid speed work, but inactivity does nothing for damaged tendons. The only way forward is repeated eccentric exercises and cross friction massage to repair the damaged collagen, and regular LOW IMPACT activity to keep the blood flowing through it and growth hormone hitting it.

Correction:

*There were no workouts on the first injury week other than the one on Monday (when the injury started)

I did an easy aqua jog today 45 min, to extra prepare myself to actually start running tomorrow.

More Info:

*I am a forefoot runner. In previous months I have been trying to lang more flat footed.

*One of the protocols I took in the first week was to keep my feet dorsiflexed at all times when I am walking as to not use the tendon, it seemed to work.

*As I was aqua jogging today, I noticed my left thigh averts out to the side, efforts to keep it straight are for the most part ineffective.

*I have been giving my achilles a massage in the shower with my thumb and forefinger.

*On the first Thursday after my injury, I jogged incredibly slowly for about 30 minutes around a field, probably like 10:00/mile pace. The tendon just started to hurt by the end, but that following Saturday I was feeling fine. I think I am going to try a really slow shuffle tomorrow (1/4/13) and see how it goes. In the past slow runs have helped me when in a funk.

*In terms of supplements: Just last week I started taking more Magnessium and Calcium, the ratio I read to take was 1500mgCa to 800mgMg.

*Can anyone make a differentiation of whether I should take Ibuprofen or Voltaren or just leave the drugs alone. Last week I abandon the drugs for a bit.

Cheers mate

Dump the drugs and the over analysis. The Graston guy was right. It really is that simple.

You mentioned doing calf raises but you need to be doing calf DROPS, where the heel is lower than the step you're on. I had nasty A.T. but was able to train for Boston doing these calf drops every day after running (and I ran every day, literally.) I have a relative in Norway who is a physical therapist and said complete rest is not the answer for this injury because the Achillies is notorious for poor blood flow and you need to get the blood down there!

The other thing you have to get figured out is why you have A.T. in the first place. In my case, my pelvis was tilted making one leg shorter than the other. I got my pelvis adjusted, and haven't had any trouble in my Achillies since then. (Lots of trouble in my hips though, just saying.)

I havnt learned anything new. Also let me correct: all of my exercises have only been drops.

I havnt learned anything new. Also let me correct: all of my exercises have only been drops.

having battled achilles tendinites for over 20 years, i will second the effectiveness of the eccentric calf raises. however, there is no way i could personally do 3x10 as suggested by an earlier post. the best i've managed is 2x6-8 with each leg, and that is only AFTER runs (1x6-8 with each leg--i double 3-4 days a week). i'm sure everyone's different, and maybe my 45 y/o legs tire easily (though i think i have above average strength in my calf muscles), but at the least i'd err on the side of caution...

during school today I don't feel any pain in my Achilles, even when I fully pointed it.so I went on a 20 minute run at a pace of about 10 minutes per mile the whole time on the average.I could sort of feel that it was the still there but it wasn't hurting or anything it was just evidence. I could feel that there was a little bit of crepitus in the latter half of the run. I got home in did 15 East centric cast dropsand a couple of calf drops with the bent knee. now I am Iceing it to kill the inflamation. But so far everything feels fine. I think I will be fine to do the same tomorrow or even more or even faster. I think I am improving well.I did a slow run like this in the first week of my injury, and it seemed to help even though it did hurt. So I think the run I just went on today will have likewise affects.

I would recommend that you take two weeks off from running. Then after the one week off gradually begin to do the eccentric calf raises after cross training workouts (while your legs are warmed up) for another week. Achilles tendonitis is an acute injury and it will go away with rest. Tendonosis on the other hand is a chronic injury that will not go away with just rest. I had acute tendonitis in my left achilles and it went away after 3 weeks of cross training and nothing else. I had tendonitis that progressed rather quickly into tendonosis in my right achilles several months later and it took me out of training for an entire year. Think about that. I honestly thought that I would never be able to run again. Eventually the combination of dex, iontophoresis, and eccentric calf raises got me back to a point where I could train again. Achilles injuries vary tremendously in severity and/or type. What worked for someone might not work for someone else. I noticed that tendonitis presented with a very distinct lump on the achilles whereas with tendonosis the swelling was much more diffuse. Be careful with the eccentric calf raises. They will do more harm than good for an acute injury, but they are vital for chronic achilles injuries. Whatever you do, think very carefully about how you will go about this. Achilles injuries are an entirely different animal than your run of the mill stress fracture etc.

I started I sing it last night, and rolling my soleus. This morning it feels pretty sore. No crepitus though. I just did 15 you centric cap drop s. Now I am I singing, as I could tell that it was a little bit inflamed upon waking up.

What song(s) are you singing? And can you describe these "you centric cap drop s"? They sound interesting. Thanks.

This is what the 13.06 5000m runner Marius Bakken recommends:

That is quite simple:

1. Use anti-inflammatory to address the acute pain / inflammation. A lot of runners with achilles problems swear by Voltaren here and have myself the best experience with it.

2. Go to a specialty store for shoes that gives you shoes that fits your stride/foot.

3. Take on the program explained in the link further down - far better than anything to get back up again without any problems after achilles problems.

(4 Powerful cross massage in soleus/transition achilles tendon to relieve the inflamed tendon attached)

Read and do these exercises:

http://www.carletonsportsmed.com/chronic_achilles_tendinitis.htm

(Bakken didn't have one day away from training because of injury between the age of 13-28)

I don't have said Aircast heel pump, but I do have an ice compression wrap for my ankle. In which my achilles feels much better and,. The article said that you could wear ice during exercises. I thought it is bad you have a cold at kileys an exercise at the same time.?