eccentric training regimine increases collagen synthesis in injured achilles tendons

i had something similar. wouldnt describe it as a pain, more like their was something sticking right at the bottom of the heel that pulled when i did teh raises, or if i did calf stretches. it went away after a week or so once i started running again (been 2-3 weeks of short, slow, flat runs)

Yeah, it's not exactly pain, but I can tell something is going on.

I would back off on the eccentrics if you are getting a pulling pain. Sounds like you may be putting too much strain on the plantar fascia now. Have you had a problem with plantar fascia before? How much weight did you increase the eccentrics by in the past week?

Does the pain persist after doing the exercise and being done for a few hours, or only during the exercise itself?

Because it is hurting elsewhere, I would lower the weight for now and see if that pulling pain persists and find a weight you are able to do it at without that pain, so you are still loading the Achilles but not putting excessive force elsewhere.

Thanks Doc.

Actually you're right I've recently jumped up the weight to 65lbs from like 50 or something. It doesn't hurt after I do the lifts, only when I am actually doing them. I haven't had a problem with my plantar fascia before and this actually feels a little higher up on the heel than the PF. However, I think your advice seems good and I will back off the weight a little.

Thanks.

I just did a couple of the lifts with no weight and there was no pain what-so-ever, so the added weight is likely to blame for this pain. It's amazing how easy the lifts feel without weights now!

oh yes and mook = achilles gimp

I've been suggesting barefoot running for years to treat and cure Achilles tendonitis.

What are the specifics of the barefoot running program? How much barefoot running do you do? And why do you suppose it might work?

I don't personally have a specific 'program', besides slipping off my shoes at the earliest warning signs and running barefoot on grass. As a result, I've never developed chronic Achilles tendonitis. I limit it to 20-30 min., but for someone who's not used to running barefoot you'd likely have to start with less (~5 min.).... or start with barefoot walking. I run barefoot 2-3 times per week as a preventitive and have been doing so for 3 1/2 years. The key is to 'lift' off the ground.... don't 'push'. I also believe you have to be careful with your street shoes by not wearing shoes with too much heel that contrast with your running shoes. Even going from trainers to flats or spikes.... that can be a significant change and 'shock' to the body (which is part of the reason why I train and race in flats/barefoot).

If you want to check it out, there's a Yahoo barefoot running forum with story after story from people curing chronic Achilles tendonitis with barefoot walking/running. I believe it's the stretch on the Achilles that helps to break up the scar tissue, increase blood flow/nutrients to the area, growth factors, etc., and therefore stimulates tissue repair. The same concept applies with barefoot running and plantar fasciitis. This isn't specific to just soft tissue.... we see the same thing with skeletal tissue. Simply put, some activity is better than none at all.

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/RunningBarefoot/

I agree that barefoot running can be good, but really warn against it if your legs/feet aren't equipped to handle it. Once everything is 100% healed and has been for a while, it is worth a shot to introduce it in, and as already suggested, slowly. Still, if your strength and flexibility around the ankle joint and within your foot is not sufficient, or you have any "biomechanical flaws" (for lack of better phrase), they may be exacerbated by this... just ease into it.

I like the idea of doing it on grass, since the surface may stimulate the touch receptors on the bottom of the feet, and therefore help your nervous system control your foot movement better (and reduce the risk of harmful movements) than if it did not have that type of feedback.

Keep at it, you'll recover!

That's what I was thinking. From this injury I've learned that I have to suppliment my training with core work, strength building, and form drills to stay injury free. I'll probably try to work in some barefoot strides when I get better.

Send me an e-mail if you want to try out a program I am working on putting together. It's not quite done yet, but should hopefully be sometime in the next few weeks.

I wouldn't move right into barefoot strides, try some easier running on it first... the faster you are running the higher the stress on the tissues. Just start out with some easy barefoot jogging the first few times and then progress to easy strides, and as you progress you can go faster.

So is the barefoot running part of an achilles rehab program or is it just a general strengthening regimine?

Also, I wanted to note that this program is actually working for me when pretty much nothing else would. I'm 9 weeks into the lifts and I feel almost 100% better. I'm still going to take another week or so off before trying to come back, but I really feel that I could run without any pain right now.

So I’m digging up a really old thread here.

I have a couple questions regarding the eccentric program. I’m about 2 weeks into it and haven’t seen any improvement so far. In fact my Achilles has become slightly more painful. It seems like this is to be expected?

I’m not having any pain when I do my eccentric heal drops, but I do get pain after a brief rest afterwards. So if I sit down for a few mins after doing them, then stand up I have pain. Should I still increase the weight during my heal drops, so wait until I have some improvement?

I had been stretching my calves a LOT previous to this week, but have stopped thinking that might help some. It seems to be helping a little. Should I still stretch when doing this program?

Another achilles sufferer here.

I do think that you should stretch but 1) after you're warmed up and 2) make sure that when you are calf stretching, the weight is on your heel and not your toe.

I also used "the stick" and worked on my calves like a MENACE (white hot pain that made me want to pass out). Turns out I had some SERIOUS knot in each calf, and after about a week of beating on it nightly they're both gone and I've felt much, much better.

Foam roll your hamstrings and your calves/quads as much as possible, too.

I was doing the heel raises and feeling a fair amount of pain for about the first 3 weeks, it's just now starting to get a little bit easier so I would say stick with them.

Good luck!

I've just started the stick as well. Going after it pretty hard. The next day my calves seem sore just from the stick. I think I may have been stretching a little too much.

Have you been massaging the tendon at all? I can feel a small bump there. The bump is definetly bigger when the tendon is painful. I'm wondering if that may help break up scar tissue as well, or if it will make it more inflammed?

I'm about 1 month into the eccentric training, and am seeing good results at mid-tendon, but not seeing any changes at the insertion. Does anyone know what may help insertional tendinosis? ANY help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

From what I can tell there are two forms of the eccentric lifts - one with a "drop" (below a step) and one with no drop.

I read somewhere (can't find the study now) that insertional sufferers actually may be slightly harmed by the drop raises, and may receive more benefit from floor based ones (your heel never goes negative).

Allyson, how much weight have you been using in the backpack? I'm wondering what kind of ranges people are up too. It seems like 15lbs or so wouldn't make that much difference. Especially when I could gain that much weight just from being injured!