achilles tendinopathy and eccentric calf drops

Ovetto wrote:

3 x15 reps 2 x per day with both straight leg and bent.

!!!!!

This. And Patience.

Ok I'll definetly give the Alfredson protocol a try,

I'll just modify one thing: since I have pain on both my achilles I think I'm gonna use the pull up bar I have on my door frame to pull my self on my toes and then do the heel drop (one leg at a time).

so 3 sets of 15 repetitions with straitgh leg

3 sets of 15 repetitions with bent leg

on both legs, that makes 12 sets a day.

I'm gonna wait a couple of days and then start.

I'll do them on the floor since Dr.Google suggested my tendinopathy is of the insertional kind.

Since many people seems to be in a similiar situation I'll try and post updates regularly on my situation and everybody who feels like it can do the same. And of course anybody who already went through this please post your story!

edo wrote:

Ok I'll definetly give the Alfredson protocol a try,

I'll just modify one thing: since I have pain on both my achilles I think I'm gonna use the pull up bar I have on my door frame to pull my self on my toes and then do the heel drop (one leg at a time).

so 3 sets of 15 repetitions with straitgh leg

3 sets of 15 repetitions with bent leg

on both legs, that makes 12 sets a day.

I'm gonna wait a couple of days and then start.

I'll do them on the floor since Dr.Google suggested my tendinopathy is of the insertional kind.

Since many people seems to be in a similiar situation I'll try and post updates regularly on my situation and everybody who feels like it can do the same. And of course anybody who already went through this please post your story!

The point is no concentric contraction, so using a pull up bar is good.

Just to make it clear, 2 x (3 x 15) per day both straight and bent. You did not say it explicity, but you implied it. The bent isolates the soleus.

Alfredson does not recommend the floor. This sounds like BroScience.

In case it has not been posted in this thread yet, here is Alfredson's original paper,

edo wrote:

R-squared wrote:

Answers to your questions:

1) No - pain will settle but tendinopathy still present and will recur quickly

2) Yes - 9 months of dedicated heel drops -> pain free running for the first time for 5 years! Need to continue maintenance program because if you slack off, problem eases back

thanx for your reply,

so should I ignore the fact that pain has slightly worsen and keep doing eccentric calf raises?

Did you take a break from running?

If you did how long before you went back to running?

You may be overstretching on the eccentric heel drops. The point is to load the tendon/ calf muscle, and lightly stretch at the same time. If you are dropping your heel down too far, you could notice some pain in the following days. Try doing a set or two of eccentrics but don't drop your heel quite so much.

Also, Achilles tendinosis is a result of something else going on; its not the cause. When your muscles are pulling on the tendon, your muscles will win every time, and the effect is Achilles tendinosis. Take care, to stretch and strengthen your hamstrings, glute and core as well. Pair this with self massage of the tendon (youtube some videos), and you'll be on a path to recovery. Also, make sure you are drinking a lot of water as hydration is very important, as well as getting enough magnesium in your diet.

These things may not fully cure you, but they should help substantially. Be smart about your recovery.

Supermassive Valid Argument wrote:

This sounds like BroScience.

there was a 2008 study done on people with insertional achilles tendinopathy,

because they noticed that alfredson protocol wasn't as succesfull as with mid portion achilles tendinopathy, so they tried this modified version,

this is the original study:

and this is the website where I found about it:

Been having some issues with my left achilles so finding this thread is a win. I actually had the bump above the heel until I stopped running and iced like crazy. The pain is WAY down and started running every other day. Perhaps I should take more time off but that is hard to do when the intense summer heat has finally broken and I can run at a decent pace.

Perhaps I will reconsider.

I will be doing the calf raises more religiously since everyone seems to be in agreement on them. I was hoping to continue getting back in shape for the fall and winter so this is really pissing me off.

edo wrote:

Ok I'll definetly give the Alfredson protocol a try,

I'll just modify one thing: since I have pain on both my achilles I think I'm gonna use the pull up bar I have on my door frame to pull my self on my toes and then do the heel drop (one leg at a time).

so 3 sets of 15 repetitions with straitgh leg

3 sets of 15 repetitions with bent leg

on both legs, that makes 12 sets a day.

I'm gonna wait a couple of days and then start.

I'll do them on the floor since Dr.Google suggested my tendinopathy is of the insertional kind.

Since many people seems to be in a similiar situation I'll try and post updates regularly on my situation and everybody who feels like it can do the same. And of course anybody who already went through this please post your story!

You're going to injure it again. That is too much at first. 12 sets! Start with 3 sets of 15 each leg (6 total) once every other day. During the second week move to every day. The tendon is prone to tearing because the fibres aren't arranged in neat bands anymore. The pull up bar is a fine idea but you can use your other leg too. If you keep the other leg straight and the working leg slightly bent at the knee then you'll be able to transfer onto to ball of the working foot with your heel off the ground.

Fairly big deck wrote:

You're going to injure it again. That is too much at first. 12 sets! Start with 3 sets of 15 each leg (6 total) once every other day. During the second week move to every day. The tendon is prone to tearing because the fibres aren't arranged in neat bands anymore. The pull up bar is a fine idea but you can use your other leg too. If you keep the other leg straight and the working leg slightly bent at the knee then you'll be able to transfer onto to ball of the working foot with your heel off the ground.

yes I just read on that article I posted that for insertional achilles tendinopathy apparently you should do 3 x 15 twice a day, with a straight leg...

Fairly big deck wrote:

You're going to injure it again. That is too much at first. 12 sets! Start with 3 sets of 15 each leg (6 total) once every other day.

Totally agree with the Farily big deck on this. I tried to jump right into this when i got the pain and the bump and it made it way worse.

now, i'm shooting for Kudz runner's method of just 1 x 3 x 15 per day.

I was sore after day 1 but not limping. I'm going to stick with this until i am no longer sore, then will add weight or resistance.

moanswers wrote:

Fairly big deck wrote:

You're going to injure it again. That is too much at first. 12 sets! Start with 3 sets of 15 each leg (6 total) once every other day.

Totally agree with the Farily big deck on this. I tried to jump right into this when i got the pain and the bump and it made it way worse.

now, i'm shooting for Kudz runner's method of just 1 x 3 x 15 per day.

I was sore after day 1 but not limping. I'm going to stick with this until i am no longer sore, then will add weight or resistance.

Yep, you've gotta think about it like any other exercise, when you are new to it, it's so easy to overdo it. Once you've been at it for a month or two, then you can go nuts trying to add resistance if you want but you don't need to. I think standard heel dropsmwith body weight only are sufficient to get back to running.