One run on hurt Achilles tendon, what's my plan of action going forward?

Bump.

Thinking of swimming laps/pool running tomorrow and staying with the ice/heat routine 2 or 3 times today and tomorrow.

I do heal drops all the time as part of my pre/post run routine, so take that FWIW.

Are you doing the full 3x15 eccentric heel drops, both with a bent knee and straight knee, off a step twice a day? If not, do that. If you can do that without pain, add weight via a backpack. It's okay (good in fact) for your tendon to be sore doing the heel drops. Other than that, your best bet is to take it easy for a few days until it feels better. Hard to say how long it'll take you.

stop running right now. More than 3 days, try 2 weeks. Ice it to bring down the inflammation and do pool running or elliptical. This is not to be messed with. I speak from experience. Take off 2 or even 3 weeks now and thank yourself later.

As someone who has had Achilles surgery, I think it's critical that you treat this seriously right now. For years, I'd just do a little bit, pop some ibuprofen and hope it would get better. It didn't. Also, at Cornell, kids that had Achilles issues as freshmen were sometimes not running as juniors because of it. If i were you, i'd take a minimum of 3 days off. Everyone said the eccentric loading was the end all and be all but i'm not convinced of that.

There have been some good Achilles threads over the years:

Here is one from earlier this year:

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=5361979

Here is a list of all thread on Achilles on letsrun.

And finally, a lot of people don't realize but the first post on the messageboard "Great LetsRun.com Threads"

http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?thread=308471

has a link to lots of great outside sources. Here is where you can find more outside info:

Lower Leg

Achilles Tendon Injuries

http://www.sportsmed.buffalo.edu/info/achtend.html

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0125.htm

http://www.podiatrychannel.com/achillestendinitis/

http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm?objectid=8C7DB8D7-9C71-4E9A-BE6115DBAC1D7602

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20020501/1805.html

http://www.nismat.org/ptcor/eccentric_achilles/index.html

http://www.north-wales-sports-physiotherapy-clinic.co.uk/calf1.htm

http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=124&topcategory=Foot

http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/Handouts/achillestendinitis/achillestendinitis.html

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/0031.htm

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/0228.htm

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/0125-achilles-tendon-pain.htm

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/1019-achilles-heel-injury.htm

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/archive/1103-achilles-tendinitis.htm

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/achilles/tendinitis.htm

http://www.emedx.com/emedx/diagnosis_information/foot-ankle_disorders/achilles_tendonitis_outline.htm

http://www.time-to-run.com/injuries/thebig5/achilles.htm

http://www.brookssports.com/on_the_run/inj_articles/Achilles.pdf

http://www.runningonline.com/zine/Injuries/14.sht

http://www.serpentine.org.uk/advice/physio/achilles.htm

3 weeks off after only one painful run?

I'm hoping for 3 days off at the most. I'm being aggressive with the ice/heat/massage.

The eccentric drops are pretty painful right now, so idk whether to continue those or not.

ouch my Achilles hurts wrote:

3 weeks off after only one painful run?

I'm hoping for 3 days off at the most. I'm being aggressive with the ice/heat/massage.

The eccentric drops are pretty painful right now, so idk whether to continue those or not.

Do not train until you can run without pain. I ran through it for a couple of months until the point where I couldn't walk without limping. It took 7 months with no running to get better. You asked, I advised. Take it or leave it.

As you can tell from the previous responses, the Achilles is not to be taken lightly. We are not talking about Runner's knee or a sore calf. An Achilles injury, if not treated immediately and with gusto, can end end your running days permanently.You must not do the old "try a few days and see how it feels" thing with this type of injury. Seriously, book two weeks off MINIMUM and then play it by ear. Do not "test it" on the treadmill.My cousin, a promising college level runner, has been off for almost 9 months with an improperly treated Achilles injury. For a year or so she ignored the advice of other and kept dabbling with icing, stretching, etc.The only way to deal with it is complete REST. As a point of interest, she tried Active Release Therapy and found it made it worse and more painful...

ouch my Achilles hurts wrote:

3 weeks off after only one painful run?

I'm hoping for 3 days off at the most. I'm being aggressive with the ice/heat/massage.

The eccentric drops are pretty painful right now, so idk whether to continue those or not.

yeah but...I've had a sore achilles several times, taken 3 days off and it has been fine. you know that's the deal with running - you never know what is a twinge and what is an injury until too late.

Flexibility is important when dealing with achilles problems. Big heals on shoes reduce range of motion and compress the tendon more than it should be. Get lower healed shoes or run barefoot for a warmup (on flat grass) before you go running.

The fact that it was hurting AFTER you started running is what would concern me. I've had troubles with my Achillies for years; if it was only sore after a run or when I got up in the morning, I knew that I could ice it, do the heel drops, maybe a couple days off and everything would be OK.

But when it got to the point where it was really sore after I started running, and there was one time I could barely walk home, I went to get it checked by a P.T. and ended up needing 5 weeks off.

I'm sure you've already looked into this, but are you wearing shoes with a decent heel drop? (Like at least 8 mm, preferably closer to 12 mm?) This has made a huge difference for me. I went almost a year without Achillies trouble so like a moron, raced a marathon in minimal shoes and went back to square one.

I'm running in the Saucony Guide 6. They feel like a good fit for my feet and foot strike.

ART worked for me, but not on the tendon...on the calf. My calves were very tight and pulling and the tendon, making it sore. Try ART on the calves but leave the tendon alone,

Also should mention that this pain is coming on my 6th day of running off a 2 week break.

I have weathered three bouts with Achilles trouble and completely eliminated it each time. Mine always seems to a be a result of calf irritation that results in inflammation wandering down into the Achilles.

There is never much consistency in the healing process. Anywhere from a week to 6 weeks.

1. Take a few days off and cross-train (the bike worked well for me)

2. Do eccentric heel drops every day

3. When you start running again, get into it slowly, start on flat and even ground (the track and treadmill were good for me), ice after, etc.

IMO if it really hurts you shouldn't be running, but if it's a bit creaky and awkward you're probably OK.

I ran a few days into the pain and only needed about a week off, but my running was reduced for a few weeks. I was able to train on an Alter-G before I felt 100%. I still ran a huge PR in the training cycle after the injury.

I still do eccentric heel drops. I tried to stop and the pain came back months after the original injury. Started doing them again and it went away. So I just do them daily.

As everyone else has said, DO NOT try to train through this. DO NOT do "test runs" for at least 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, plan a 5min treadmill run. If painful, do not push through. I don't care who you are... if you have an achilles issue, it WILL lead to your demise if you don't take precautionary measures while you still can. You will fight this for an unreasonably long time if you try to prolong your season or training regimen with even a small issue. It will get worse. Speaking from experience. This is probably THE worst injury one can attain. HEAL yourself. In 2 months, you will thank us. You're welcome.

I appreciate your advice and know you're speaking from experience, but other people may have had quicker healing processes as well.

I've only had one painful day and been treating it aggressively already.

Maybe I am in denial but I hope in 3 days I'll be hitting the road for some easy miles.

ouch my Achilles hurts wrote:

I appreciate your advice and know you're speaking from experience, but other people may have had quicker healing processes as well.

I've only had one painful day and been treating it aggressively already.

Maybe I am in denial but I hope in 3 days I'll be hitting the road for some easy miles.

I had a much quicker healing process. Two weeks totally off would have been excessive. Everyone is different.

HOWEVER don't do your test run out on the road. Do it on a treadmill or on the track. For one, it's a controlled environment. If it hurts when you're out on the road you're kind of screwed or might be tempted to run all the way back. If it hurts on the track or treadmill you can just stop. But also, it's totally flat and even ground, and hills and uneven ground can aggravate the achilles.

Good luck.

ouch my Achilles hurts wrote:

I appreciate your advice and know you're speaking from experience, but other people may have had quicker healing processes as well.

I've only had one painful day and been treating it aggressively already.

Maybe I am in denial but I hope in 3 days I'll be hitting the road for some easy miles.

You'll be hitting the road in 3 days whether you're ready or not, that's pretty obvious.

Until someone has had serious tendonitis it's extremely difficult to comprehend the magnitude of how sucky it can be. Stress fractures are like getting a mosquito bite in comparison.

Tendon doesn't ever heal back 100% the same. There is always an echo of that trauma, so here is one more vote to chill out.

Here's the thing most people don't get about injuries; it's completely irrational to say "I'll give it 72 hours then train on it again." Might as well making it 69 hours and 27 minutes, which is equally arbitrary. How about you run on it when you know it's better and you don't have to baby it and aren't testing it out all day to see if it's magically gotten better in the 8 minutes that has passed since you last tested it and it felt sore still.

Unless you're a super-hippy and you can just use the power of love, organic food, and yoga to will that sucker back into shape, I'd suggest learning more about myofascial release and catch up on your to-do list. It's December, you don't need to run.