How long do achilles injuries take to heal?

The achilles has taken me out of probably three seasons because I didn't take care of it properly. I tried the Advil/ibuprofen route but I didn't get better. Instead I became addicted to advil, it was so bad I didn't think I could run without it plus I still had massive pain. The only way to get it better is to reduce your milage and take it easy. There is know way it's going to get better ponding 75 a week. Run like 4 or 5 a day for a week or two and maybe aqua jog for added fitness. If this doesn't work, take complete time off. Mine got so bad that I took 3 weeks off with no activity and then when I started running it still hurt. So I started running 4 a day for a couple weeks and finally it started to losen up and get better. Later, when it is healthy it would be a good idea to do toe rises and other strength excercises to help prevent the injury from occuring again. If your worried about the up coming season, know that it is better to take time off now and get it better then later when it counts more. Would your rather be ready for the first crap meet of the season or the last huge championship meet!-Late

There was a post about this subject a couple of weeks ago. I think Rojo responded to it as well. Search the archives for the word "achilles' and you'll find it.

In short, after I tried to keep running on my injured achilles, it took me 8 weeks of no running to let it heal (this was after trying 2 weeks, then 3 weeks, 4 weeks, etc -- a whole lotta time wasted).

My opinion: If it hurts when you poke or pinch it, do not run. Don't bother with anti-inflammatories -- let the thing heal and you won't need them.

Get a pair of orthotics for your running shoes. I had the same problem. I lost my whole XC season because of it but the orthotics helped get me back by indoors. I would also suggest doing a lot of toe raises to strengthen your calves and do alot of calf stretches.

Put something under your heel to elevate it. This will take the pressure off the achilles tendon and allow it to heal. This worked for me when I had an achilles injury. Whether it works may depend on the severity of the injury.

After suffering a partial tear of my Achilles doing 100-mileish weeks in Dec. '94, right before a serious wannabe attempt at 2:22 (Oly Trials B) at Houston-Tenneco that Jan. of '95, I pay attention to that s***. Richard is on the right track, elevating the heel takes the strain of the overstretch on the Achilles. My best lifts were and still are Dr. Scholl's Gel heel lifts, at any grocery store for about $9.95. They're better than the hard othotics which i found to be overkill. Got the Dr. Scholl's heel inserts about two years ago. Wear them in every shoe all the time, even if you get one pair and switch them in your dress, walking, hiking, running shoes, etc. My constant granulation-scarred, lumpy stuff around the tendon's sheath and overall tenderness cleared up completely within ten days and hasn't come back in two years. Now I'm too geezered (39) and slow to give a rip about tackling 100-mile weeks, but have had no problems with Achilles or running injuries whatsoever.

In my 25 or so years of competitive running (high school through road racing) I have yet to see an achilles injury heal completely without total rest. Ice and anti-inflamms certainly help, but rest is the key. Bite the bullet and plan on taking two weeks completely off (no walking, no "easy jogging"). Ice 3x/day and take ibuprofen or similar (make sure to stay well hydrated while doing so). If the achilles has any tenderness/soreness at all after two weeks, take another full week off. I have seen quite a few runners cost themselves weeks or months of training and racing by trying to "nurse" an achilles injury while continuing to run. You don't want to mess up your achilles because it will haunt you for years to come.

take a rest my friend. I know of too many good runners who have never fully recovered from their achilles problems. Most because they thought they could run through it by decreasing mileage/intensity/advil,etc. If you are serious about running competitively in the future stop running for a while and let it recover. Hit the pool..but you must work you ass off in the pool. In '98 I had to redshirt my junior year of indoor to recover from achilles tendonitis by taking two months of pool work only. My first meet back was a spring break meet...with absolutely no speed work under my belt I ran a decent 9:18 in the steeple and doulbled up for the day by running a 1:52 800m...a PR. At that point I had a new found belief in pool running. Pool running is boring as hell, but will work.

I hammered through achilles tendonitis by getting lasar on

it everyday.

Now, I make my other leg do more of the work.

You can also change the way your foot hits the ground.

I believe Jerome Drayton and Deke both shuffled.

If you shuffle you can still do LT with an elevated

heartrate. Six months of that is better than nothing.

I second the motion on no stretching. Stretching is good for preventitive measures. Once injured though, especially achillis problem, do not stretch it until healed. It will only make it worse.

Oh I rested all right...for almost five months and not by choice. It's definitely a requirement to take the time off while the Achilles is sore and get rid of that injury. You won't be able to train through the pain until it 'loosens up' and eventually goes away on its own, because it won't. Still, in my experience the heel lifts help prevent injuries from recurring by placing your foot in an elevated alignment that takes the strain off the over-stretched Achilles that caused the injury to begin with. Didn't mean to be misleading in my earlier post. Also, take saunas a few days a week if you cannot work out at all. Keeps the water weight from being retained and you won't gain nearly as much weight during an extended enforced period of inactivity. Or punch a heavy bag for a half-hour-plus. Great workout.

ONE KEG: any chance i could discuss your routine/recovery more at length? i suffered partial tear over three years ago, and nothing has worked so far. i don't even run anymore, but would love to get back into sub 32 shape again--or better.

as for the rest of the posts here: there's no consensus out there, and for good reason. some people need more rest, others need biomechanical help, others can train through some of the pain. laser, ultrasound, ice, anti-inflammatories, heel lifts, surgery...there wouldn't be so many options if this was a simple problem!!! to the guy who started this post: by all means, BEST OF LUCK. all i can say from the years i suffered through this to the ones i tried to start up again is this: no matter what you think or how you feel, start up SLOWER than you think you need to, and make your increases gradual. there's no sense in doing all the rest/rehab part right, just to f--- up the running part you want so badly. be patient, just as with training, and you'll get there.

cheers,

greg

Sure thing, Greg. Not sure how much help I can provide but I have been through the shredder with my Achilles in the past, so by now maybe I have figured out some ways to deal with it. Go ahead and e-mail me at Cerose88@aol.com and good luck with that injury stuff.

All I did is took 2 weeks off of NO running. It felt weird when I got back running again, but it was completely healed.

My experience: Achilles tendinitis, senior year of college, between cross and indoor.

Likely cause: Running in worn out shoes, and getting so psyched from a good cross season that I upped my mileage and tried doing 2-a-days straight through Christmas break. I found that no matter how badly it hurt to walk, if I could just "gut it out" for a mile, the pain went a way and I would then run 10 or 13 miles. Those endorphins are amazing. Of course, the ankle would grind when I bent it, and I couldn't go up stairs afterward.....

Final cure: Threatened with not having a senior track season at all, I finally rested it for 4 weeks (did the peddling a bike with my hands trick, plus swimming), and when the team doctor recommended a Cortisone shot (which weakens the tendon, and I wasn't good enough to justify that), finally took to immersing my ankle in a bucket of ice water until I couldn't feel or move it, twice a day. At the end of 4 weeks, I was fine and had a decent track season.

Lots of Advil was ingested, but I don't think that really helped anything. It didn't kill the pain, that's for sure.

Key point: None of the treatments worked until I STOPPED trying to run through it.

I was the one who started a thread about a month ago on the subject. No two people are alike on this injury, so it's tough to give advice.

I'd say there are two general categories with this problem. First, those who simply strain or pull this thing and need a week (or two, or three) off for it to help out. These folks benefit from nsaids, ice, maybe some more stretching and a little strengthening. The second group are like me: chronic achilles pain that does not respond to normal treatment. This is a biomechanical problem, or a complete tear, etc.

I've been "off" for over 18 months with mine, maybe finally starting to see the light? I have tried everything mentioned, and more, but finally am in PT and that seems to be helping. They filmed me running and then broke it down frame by frame to see what was up. My right hip sags when my foot strikes the ground, causing my achilles to torque too much. The remedy? Hip strengthening ... lots of hip and core strength work. It looks promising.

I have been doing a little running using a creative taping system. It's basic physics. Place a pressure point on the achilles area, but not where it hurts (in my case, higher up). Tape well. When running, the pressure point you added is like a fulcrum, taking the pressure OFF the bad area. This is the idea behind the Cho-pat straps. Apparently they make an achilles one, though I have not tried it. When I asked about it here, no one responded. I may get one and see, and I'll write something up about it if I do.

Good luck!

One Keg,

When you use lifts, do you put them in both shoes or just the shoe of the injured achilles?

G

Careful not to leave the lift under the injured foot's heel too long. Long-term can shorten the achilles and make it more susceptible to future injury. Test it without the lift on an easy run and get rid of it as soon as you can. I have used it only on the injured side. Achilles are tricky things. Good luck.