returning from Achilles injury

Every achilles injury I've come back from (and I'm comign back from my 3rd one now) this has been the case. After the long rest and then a couple of days of running, soreness and tenderness returns to the area. All I know is that it's a different soreness and tenderness. It fades as the day goes on and after each run it either stays the same level or is a bit less. It bothers me less while running than it did when I was trying to run through the injury in the first place.

Most importantly, it just feels... "different". Not sure how to express it but it's not the sort of pain that gives you that dreaded feeling that you're going to need to take a long time off. If you have taken off 6 full weeks, you have most likely healed whatever was truly injured in there unless the injury was bad. But it's newly healed and it's not yet used to the stress of running.

Just be gentle with it and smart. Warm it up and stretch it well beforehand. You should be OK.

Thanks. I think that I know what you're talking about. The pain is different than my previous pain and it is going away as today progresses. Even when I press on it now it's not so bad.

im in the same situation as you. someone actually posted a couple of weeks back that the pain you get on your first few runs back is the scar tissue been broken down. anyway i think its fairly normal to feel something initially in the arount the achilles.

i'm about the same place and also feeling that "different type of pain" after the first few runs (very easy stuff, 20 minutes of alternating run//walk just once per week). i've also been doing those eccentric calf exercises (started after about 4 weeks).

next week (week 7) i'm going to try running for 20 minutes with no walking. then twice the week after, then three the week after.

hopefully within 4 weeks i'll be done with pool running forever. after the last 2 months i will never again think that track repeats are boring!

Ok, so I'm running progressively longer every other day (3 miles, 4 miles, 5 miles, etc.), and my achilles has yet to hurt at all on a run. However, it is a little sore and stiff every morning following running. The pain is very dull and goes away quickly but it still concerns me. Am I ok continuing this progression toward normal training or am I setting myself back? I would appreciate any feedback from people who have been through this.

The perminant achilles injury threads scare the crap out of me. Make them stop. Please make them stop.

Ok, 6 miles today with no pain, even when I threw in a couple of strides at the end. However, I my achilles is still a little stiff and sore every morning. There's also a small bump of scar tissue that still remains about 1.5 inches above the insertion point. It feels great to be running again, but I'm still nervous about setting myself back.

The first serious achilles injury I had was only serious because I did not give it time to heal. I kept coming back too soon, running for a couple of days, and then being forced to take more time off. For over 2 years.

After I finally took the time to let it heal all the way (2 months, as I recall) and I started running again, I also had a bump on my achilles that was sore to the touch. It lasted for over a year but as I mentioned before, the pain was "different". And it was less. And it faded over time.

That bump is, as I understand it, scar tissue. I can't promise you anything that will happen with it. but mine faded away. I just had to be careful about it.

In fact, one thing I've noticed in my 30s that wasn't true in my 20s is that I must always be diligent about warming up and stretching my achilles and lower calves.

As long at that stiffness and soreness remains "a little" and is less a month from now, you should be OK. But don't ever let up on the good warmups for that part of your body.

hey, i am going through the same thing as you. i took four weeks off from running and was pool running during that time.

i am trying to return to running this week. i've run twice this week, four miles each time. i feel a little pain at the beginning of the run, but then i warm up and feel fine the rest of the run. i feel fine the rest of the day too.

but then in the morning, my ankle is stiff and I have pain where the achilles attaches to the heel. this is my indicator of my problem. i am concerned i may be coming back too soon, and will have to return to pool running. i don't have access to a pool this week, so it will have to wait till next week.

please keep posting on your status.

Ok, so I have been running 6-7 miles every day and my achilles has yet to hurt on a run. I sometimes notice that it's not 100%, but it's not the pain that I felt before. However the bad news is, it's still stiff and sore every morning for 15-30 minutes. People are telling me different things about this. Some say it is a normal part of the strengthening/stretching process, and others say that I am reinjuring it and need to stop immediately.

Basically, I am putting my faith in the eccentric calve raise regimine in hope that it will strengthen the tendon to the point that I can train and race without worry. I am also doing a lot of core work because some people have suggested that it might help prevent future injuries. My range of motion is at 100% now and I can even do strides without pain, so it's certainly improving, but it still feels a long way from 100%. Anyone have any advice on when I can return to racing?

Good luck with your injury and please let me know if you have found anything useful that I have not mentioned.

When you can do significant volume of speed on a track -- something like at least 2 miles worth VO2 Max speed or better -- without suffering anything more than a bit of extra stiffness the next day, you are probablyready to race again. At least from an achilles point of view.

Same for me on the stiffness this time around. Usually it only lasts for a mile or two. Again, it WILL fade. But oddly enough (and again I am used to this by now) if I go over, say, 9 or 10 miles on a run, I sometimes find I need to stop again at that point and stretch/massage the leg too. This too will fade away over the next few months if this achilles injury works like the two previous ones I had.

Hey man I feel for you, it is a tough injury to deal with. I had the same problem in my first year in college(JUCO) when my coach decided he wanted to make a solid 4x800 team and that was my only focus on the year. Since I am more of a 5k/miler I wasn't quite used to this type of training and I injured my achilles right away. It really sucked but after two weeks of rest(and gaining 5 pounds) I returned to running again and I did multiple calf raises before and after the workouts....Achilles tendonitis is a result of weak calves and you need to strengthen the weak calf muscles. After a good few weeks of it still bothering me slightly it somewhat disappeared with a few reaccurances but nothing severe. I still dropped my P.R. in the 800 from 1:58 to 1:56. So all hope is not lost, but I can still feel the injury at times but it is not enough that it is painful....Hope all goes well and remember to do a lot of calf raises to strengthen your calves.

it sounds like we have the identical problem. after 4 weeks i got it to the point where it was barely painful in the morning.

but it feels worse this week after only doing 4 mile runs on two different days on flat land with two days off in between. it only hurts significantly for about 15min in the morning. but actually right now, it is even a little tender right on the heel bone if i probe around (my pain is right where the tendon attaches to the heel bone). and I can feel it a little when i walk around throughout the day. but sometimes I forget it is there (that is what lulls me into thinking maybe its not a problem).

if i were to keep running, it would hurt for 10 to 15min in the morning, then 15 to 20, etc. basically it would get a little worse each day. that result, and my gut tells me I am re-injuring it and need to stop. i've gone back to icing and ibuprofen this week to try to minimize any damage i did by running again this week, but it doesn't seem to help too much. (maybe i have micro-tears and not really any swelling?)

i have been stretching every day, and doing push-ups and crunches. i plan to go back to pool running and stationary bike next week, although i kind of dread pool running again.

my guess right now, is that i probably won't be able to run for at least another 4 weeks, maybe even up to 8 weeks.

i don't have any magic bullet for you. basically my plan is to try to keep in shape aerobically, try not to gain too much weight, gain some flexibility by stretching, do pool running to keep my running specific muscles in shape. also, i am reading a lot of articles on the achilles tendon, and going through the threads on this website to try to educate myself.

the only thing maybe i could recommend to you is the the strassburg sock. (http://www.thesock.com/) i'm not sure if it would help you, i'm just looking into it myself. not sure if it is meant more for plantar fasciitis than achilles or if it can help both. the website says both...

i am not going to do any achilles exercises (calf raises, etc), because i am worried that i will stress the tendon and keep it from healing. i think the achilles exercises will be better for me after i am healed to try to prevent re-occurrence (or actually i am analyzing my training to see what went wrong as i think that will probably be the best bet against injuring it again)

honestly, i'm pretty depressed. i was gearing up for all these races this fall and running the best times of my life. i know that running is not everything, but its one of only a few things that helps me relieve stress and that i enjoy doing. i guess the gym will have to suffice, besides some other things.

we are taking different approaches. please give an update in a few weeks and I will do the same. i hope it works out for you. regards.