what to do for sore achilles

Be very careful w/ running through achilles pain...usually that is not a good idea (if the pain is more than mild). Ice, stretch, and massage your calves and soleus muscle (try the Trigger Point Therapy kit). Good luck!

Don't push. Achilles injuries are so hard to heal. I wish I hadn't pushed through mine! It has hung around for two years now.

I find that hot / cold contrast works a lot better than just ice. A calf massage may be helpful. Be sure to stretch your hamstrings as well as your calves (I think the best thing is to stand with your toes elevated and then bend forward to stretch the whole calf / hamstring chain).

But, the best thing you can do is calf raises. If it's really sore, use the other leg to help you push up and then lower yourself down with all your weight on the sure achilles. Stand on a step, so that you can lower your heel down below your forefoot. This is very good for achilles problems.

I get mild achilles soreness, on and off, fairly frequently. I do these things and never take time off for it. Granted, you may have something worse, but definitely try the calf raises. Tendons need to be worked in order to heal. Ice and rest are great for muscles, but more or less useless for tendons.

standing, facing up, half on a stair, rise up on your toes and hold and then lower your hurt leg down by itself slowly so that the heel is below the stair and the calf is being stretched. repeat 30 times and do that several times a day. as for time off, a couple days won't hurt you and will help the rehab process, and then you can probably run again (easy at first, avoiding flats) while the achilles gradually improves. rest alone is inadequate without exercises. but do not continue running without the exercises. also, to avoid shin splints from too many of these eccentric calf raises, stand with your foot half off of a stair, facing down the stairs this time, and lift your foot up toward your shin (heel remains on stair) and back down below horizontal of stair, repeating many, many, many times.

I have had an achilles problem since a race in May. I cut way back on the running. I did a lot of cycling and pool running. It is finally feeling better now. I am able to stretch it on the slant board and that seems to help. (Not recommended until it feels better.) I did some good 1000 meter repeats today and it felt good. Be patient and monitor the pain. Do not attempt to push through it. By the way, when I went to the podiatrist for his advice - he told me to rest and gave me heel inserts. The heel inserts seemed to help some. Good Luck.

I have had chronic calf strain(s) which resulted in achilles pain.

I wear achilles tendon straps on both ankles, and use a massage device called "the stick" which has worked wonders for me keeping my calves loose.

The tendon straps are not a magic bullet, but they will help.

Like others said, keep those calves loose, if the muscles in there are knotted they will pull up on the achilles and cause pain.

as these educated posters have said, the eccentric calf raises are key in staving off achilles tendonitis. I got into a good routine of heating it, stretching it, cross friction massaging it, and icing it as well, but the calf raises will cure the problem at the source. If running is too painful then get dirty on that exercise bike.

Thanks everyone - great advice.

However, I've been told that stretching the achilles area can be bad for the achilles (eg - you can't stretch it out)

What stretches should I stand clear of?

It's not that you're stretching the achilles so much as helping to rebuild the achilles tendon tissue with the eccentric raises. The eccentric raises stimulate tissue growth in the tendon, which otherwise is really hard to do.

Make sure tight calves and hamstrings aren't causing/contributing to the problem. And heel lifts are good, too; they mean that the tendon won't stretch so far when you strike.

I had achilles soreness and ran through it for one last race. 3 weeks on I still can't walk properly barefoot.

I would ask yourself are these last two races of your season worth it? By that I mean the risk that you could give yourself long term injury.

Mine is healing but I would have done things differently.

BTW, I found ice did nothing for it apart from make it feel worse.

I had some recurrence of the problem the past few days after wearing old shoes for a short run, and icing has been extremely painful, to the point where at the end of icing I literally am writhing in pain on the floor (from the cold and thawing, not the injury itself) for the next five minutes! yikes.

my experience: don't run until the pain goes completely away. Cycle, swim, walk.

When the pain ( i also had swelling ) has completely gone, then start doing all good things suggested by several posters as part of your routine.

The aim is to avoid recurrence.

I agree. about not running til the pain goes. For me, icing was really good for the first 3 days after it flared up, it reduced the swelling. After that it seemed to slow healing and make the achilles really stiff.

I actually had good results with gentle heat (this was after a week off), but people vary in their responses to treatment.

Also look at your work shoes. Mine were causing a problem.

traced my achilles/calcaneous pain back to the soleus...had some ART done (2 sessions) and now getting massages every week or 2..

lots of water ...keep the body flushed out...stretch the entire lower body (hams/calves/quads/etc)

add me as a believer in the stick as well...but a lot of times you have to really dig in to get to the soleus

I just want to bump this.

I have, over the past week, started developing some achilles soreness that I think may be tendinitis.

Last night I slept with my feet completely uncovered by sheets or blankets and I woke up this morning and...

1. did not have the mild soreness that I have been waking up

2. did not have to walk around gingerly for 5-10 mins to loosen up my achilles.

It may sound silly but I think sleeping with your feet covered forced you to point your toes outward and contracts your achilles tendon. Especially if you keep your sheets tucked in to the end of the bed so that there is more tension on your feet.

Just my two cents. Hope it helps you.

I injured my Achillies in October at my fall marathon and couldn't run for 3 weeks. When I started training for Boston in December, I was having some more trouble, but it seems to be under control.

Before I get out of bed, I massage my calves and flex my feet a bit, so it doesn't hurt when I stand up.

I do 3 sets of eccentric heel drops every morning which is the #1 thing that's helped me run with AT (I've had it on and off for 3 years). I also ice after every run, and get the odd massage which really helps.

I saw a podiatrist on You Tube who said that most Achillies problems are just the result of tight calves. There was one PT I went to in Europe who said that rest doesn't help AT, because as one person just mentioned, the tendon needs increased blood flow to get stronger.

Anyway I've been running every day without a break since November and I think I am actually strong enough to start hill training.

Good luck to everyone experiencing this dreaded affliction!!!

I have been managing mine through both professional help and trial and error for a year now.

2 questions:

1- Could you give me a sense of how long you keep your heel dropped during the eccentric exercises?

2- I have been conflicted on the icing post exercise worried it restricts blood flow to an area that needs it. It never seems to have an effect one way or another at least for me. Do you think I am too impatient?

One thing that seems to really help is using bands to stretch the calf. I am able to run with pain at 2-3 versus 6+ a year ago.