Achilles pain started 3 weeks ago, goes away if i don't run, but sec I run comes back.

ideas?

Achillies injuries are TERRIBLE. They take ages to heal, if they ever do.

Make sure it's at least calmed down, stretch very often (calf and bent-knee calf), give it at least 5 weeks, and start things like heel drops or really anything to activate it safely once it's calmed enough.

Change your shoes. I've been having Achilles issues off and on during the last year. I kept rotating through new shoes until it disappeared. Haven't had it for several weeks now and I've almost doubled my mileage.

Eccentric heel drops and heel lifts at least to start with. 3 x 15 x twice per day. It's amazing how well they work!

achillyzzz wrote:

I've never had any feet issues before in the past few years. 3 weeks ago after a track session my achilles was real tight, i took like a week and a half off then eased back felt great, did a track sess yesterday and i felt fine.. until i woke up this morning and the same pain was back, very tight achilles pain i couldn't run on it if i wanted to.

What's the most foolproof way to get this to go away without ANY further issue? It's been 3 weeks now since the pain set in.

achillyzzz wrote:

I've never had any feet issues before in the past few years. 3 weeks ago after a track session my achilles was real tight, i took like a week and a half off then eased back felt great, did a track sess yesterday and i felt fine.. until i woke up this morning and the same pain was back, very tight achilles pain i couldn't run on it if i wanted to.

What's the most foolproof way to get this to go away without ANY further issue? It's been 3 weeks now since the pain set in.

Thats unfortunate. You need to be very careful with what you do now. I suggest taking some time off. I had the same feeling with my achilles a couple of months ago. One day I was running a workout and all of a sudden I felt a pop. I wasn't able to run for 2 months and was on crutches for 2-3 weeks. I got it checked out and it turns out I strained my achilles (almost tore). It really ruined my entire season. The first couple of weeks back to running I still felt it. I always got ultrasound on it and iced it after running. Be careful I hope my experience is able to help somehow and you should definitely get it checked out.

I had an achilles problem earlier this fall. I took a month off, and then it went away. I spent the time cross training, icing, and foam rolling.

It doesn't hurt while you run since the tendon probably gets warmed up and your body releases natural pain killers.

If this becomes a recurring problem. I suggest you do some ankle mobilizations by massaging your calves up in the gastroc and soleus area. You can also use a broom, kneel down and use the broomstick to press on your calves are roll. It might feel quite intense but work on it for 10 min each day.

Next eccentric calf raises are amazing. Do them. They will work. Once the calves feel good trying do some track sessions again along with the calf drops. It might seem slow but you should not have any more problems once you implement these things.

Calf drops:

http://runnersconnect.net/running-injury-prevention/achilles-tendonitis-and-insertional-achilles-tendinopathy-in-runners/

Ankle mobilizations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYp1U8-c7h4

Good luck!

achillyzzz wrote:

I've never had any feet issues before in the past few years. 3 weeks ago after a track session my achilles was real tight, i took like a week and a half off then eased back felt great, did a track sess yesterday and i felt fine.. until i woke up this morning and the same pain was back, very tight achilles pain i couldn't run on it if i wanted to.

What's the most foolproof way to get this to go away without ANY further issue? It's been 3 weeks now since the pain set in.

You might try this. Get on the stairs and lower your heels slowly. See if there is a difference in the flexibility of your calves. If one calf feels tighter and shorter than the other, then that's something to fix. You can do it with eccentric exercises. Don't do it by letting your heels drop; rather, use your shin muscles to actively pull the heels down. Pause at the bottom, then use your calves to lift the heels until they are even with or a little higher than the rest of your feet.

Don't run through it. Go to a doc, get a physical therapy prescription, and get on an eccentric program. Trust me, do this. Battled through on and off Achilles issues and never took the time to strengthen it. Ruptured it a few years later. Take care of your Achilles!!

Want it to heal faster?

Go see an A.R.T. sports specialist. It'll cost you a $100 but is worth it.

Want it to heal quicker?

Go see an A.R.T. sports specialist. It'll cost you a $100 but is worth it.

I'll echo what some others are saying. I messed around with a seemingly minor achilles problem for too long, and it cost me 6+ months of training.

None of this advice will be satisfying or original. Sorry. But there's a reason you've heard this all before: It's true. I’m injured now (not Achilles), so here’s my advice to both you and to myself:

Take time off, now

Not to incite panic here, but you need to nip this in the bud. Take *at least* another week off, probably two. Maybe you don't need that much time off, but it's a big gamble to assume you don't. I'm not the only one with a terrible Achilles experience (and plenty of people have true horror stories). And seriously, two weeks is not a big deal in the scheme of things. You can cross-train (see below).

Do eccentric heel drops + foam rolling

Eccentric heel drops are the only thing that are going to make this work. Commit to them, and they’ll really help you recover and prevent recurrence of the problem. Also, tight calves put stress on the Achilles. Do *not* stretch your calves until your Achilles is healed, though, because that strains the tendon itself. Instead, get a foam roller and hit your calves hard. This might hurt at first.

Address underlying issues

Weak hip flexors and other stabilizing muscles are often at the root of injuries in the lower legs. Look up a routine to address these issues. Clamshells and variations thereof are your bread & butter here. This seems to have helped me, at least, to put this injury behind me.

Cross train carefully

I’ve been injured enough to know: Taking time off from running doesn’t have to mean time off from training. You just have to avoid anything that puts strain on the injury. Biking and elliptical machines can stress your Achilles. Some people say it’s fine for them, but just be careful. Deep-water running seems to give me the best possible workout with the least possible stress. It’s particularly good for emulating interval workouts and tempo workouts, and it builds leg strength in a hurry.

Return to running with caution

After months of starts and stops with an Achilles injury last year, I took a month off and re-zeroed my mileage to 15 mpw. I took a couple months to get back up to 50 mpw, where I was when I got injured. Don't let this happen to you - your comeback doesn’t have to be that slow if you take time off now. But when you start running again, I’d do only easy runs for a few weeks, and take a couple weeks to get back to your current mileage.

Accept reality, and don’t get discouraged

I have an existential crisis when I have to take a couple weeks off, but that’s kind of dumb. Hitting the pool and the gym hard for two weeks will reduce any fitness loss to about zero. Sure, you could be training harder if you were healthy, but you’re not. Sorry.

Just remember that if you address this now, you’ll be fitter in one or two months than you are today. If you don’t address this now, you run a serious risk of being less fit in six months than you are today. Good luck.

Here is a heel drop video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSXIr93ESrE