Thanks for this post everyone. I've found it helpful. Does anyone have any advice on what to do in the final stages of this injury? (i.e. when you no longer have sharp or shooting pain, just stiffness and sometimes a dull ache) When do I know that I can return to training, and end this purgatorial pool nonsense? Are there additional excercizes that I should do now? Stretches?
I'm kind of wondering the same. It's only been 3 days since I stopped running, but the pain has mostly gone away (I'm still taking more time off though). However, sometimes, like when I first get up in the morning, I feel a popping (best way to describe it) sensation in the back of my ankle. It doesn't hurt though. I guess this might be scar tissue or something shifting around. Also, sometimes if I rotate my ankle/foot, there is a clicking. Do these go away?
my tendon's click in my right ankle and you can hear a loud crack or something going on all the time...supposively my mom had the same thing too. I'm not sure if thats really helping you but I can make the sucker pop almost on will.
My general rule is if your not doing more damage or causing harm you can keep running or do whatever type of X-training is available to you that doesn't slow recovery and hurt.
I'm probably overly cautious with my injuries and my training in general...but i go for the on the way up versus treading to far out on the razor for injuries. So i'd say you need to be completly pain free before you really begin serious running. Waking up stiff and with tightness does not indicate to ME (people are different) that you are ready to go yet. I'd say you need full range of motion before you can get back at it and even when you achieve that you still need to have at least a good week to 10 days running minimum to make sure the injury is past.
Like its been said...these injuries can come back when you least expect so its usually more time than you think. I just remember that when I was really healthy I knew it and the achilles was good to go...so you should know.
Hopefully that made some sort of sense at this late hour.
hon, my achilles have been stiff in the morning for about 13 years now! I just hobble to get my coffee and it eventually eases up. I ice, aleve, roll the calves , use arnica oil and crank out my 6-10 miles a day, sometimes fast(relatively) sometimes slow. If I run a race or a hard run, I hobble for a couple of days. no biggie. 30+ years of pounding will do that I guess. pisses me off that I can't run interval workouts any more (well I can, but walking would be difficult afterwards) but at my age , who cares! I tried once to cure it. took nearly two years off. decided it was easier to live with the pain and just run baby..
Consider checking yr left leg; are there any areas 'shorter' or tighter than yr right? Esp yr left ITB and tensor fascia lata.
Sometimes a strained left ITB can pull down on yr pelvis and lift up yr right leg slightly, such that with every footstrike, you r turning, twisting, or pronating more on that foot. Over time this can cause achilles problems. Track running and/or running too much on same side of cambered roads/paths can lead to this.
Shd this is yr case then u need to sort out the left side b4 u can see progress in yr right achilles.
Most runners, who have leg problems,normally have constant problems wth the same leg.
According to my Podiatrist this is usually the most flexible one.
Inflexible ,stiff legs seem to be less likely to get injuries.
I had constant achilles problems with one leg.
My podiatrist prescribed a more cushioned shoe.
The problem healed almost immediately but slowly but surely I developed ITBS.
After 2 years of trying to deal with this frustrating,loitering injury I changed back to the original Shoes.
Why:The achilles problem is a lot easy to Manage than the ITBS.
Hills and cambered roads are no no's for ITBS but I can take a chance with a mild case of achilles.
For Me a change in shoe is the difference.
Good Luck for a speedy recovery.
i've been doing my eccentric calf raises like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFL9MefloZY
(linked below)
any advice on whether to do them faster/slower, use the opposite leg for help, other exercises, etc?
i was out for about a month with achilles, then came back and trained for a few weeks with one good race for conferences. the i started summer training, but when the achilles stuff came back i began these exercises. they seem to be helping, but i still don't feel 100%
right now i'm running about 40mpw - 60% of my normal mileage
I got rid of my achilles tendonitis by massaging my soleus and calf with a biofoam roller and icing after. It took about a week until I could run again.
i have been using an "Achilles Healer - Achilles Tendon Strap" if you are getting towards the end, it may just give you the extra support you need.