Achilles problems

At wit's end as picked up another achilles injury. Had same injury 6months ago and every seemed to be going fine. I've even been stretching regularly and looking after myslef. I've only been running say 4 times a week and not been doing any interval work and only run on the road say once a week. Don't understand why i'm being plagued with this re-occuring injury. Because of where I live it's not really possible to run on the flat as it's either up or down hill. Before I burn all of my running shoes, anyone else suffered regularly with achilles injuries and found a cure? (Rant over)
Thanks:(

I would advise if this is an injury you have been troubled with for me time, go and book an appointment with a Podiatrist.

Let forum members know where you are & ime sure you will get a personal recomendation of who to go and se.

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Originally Posted by injury advice

I would advise if this is an injury you have been troubled with for me time, go and book an appointment with a Podiatrist.

Let forum members know where you are & ime sure you will get a personal recomendation of who to go and se.

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Thanks. The only thing I've been told is that I have a slight fallen arch on the the ankle I get the injury on. Thanks for your help.

Yes, I suffer. Lost best part of 5 months (all last summer), that achiles is back ok and one short run 2 weeks ago and the other started to play up:mad:. But learnt my lesson from previous times (I like to think). Immediately stopped all running & walking, and started to regular ice and gentle stretching. Two weeks on and I've done 4 hours walking in last 2 days and on the mend. Not sure what the answer is, once I'm up and going and ankles well toughened up I'm not troubled.
It's a matter of very slow build up and resting them after big efforts. Last years injury was trying to continue training straight after the 100.

Some achilles trouble can be caused by the heel cups. These are often a plastic insert and can impinge on some people's achilles. The usual remedy is to heat the cup in steam from a kettle and pull it back to give the achilles more room or slip the shoe on while it's still warm and pliable. I know other people have cut a slice out with a stanley knife.
I've not had to do this myself so I hope someone with personal experience will respond.

I think my problems are caused by a lifetime of physical abuse, I never suffered injuries when younger, and age. I believe it is quite a common problem for 'older' persons.

I've just started to get a slight burning sensation in my achilles and after thinking what may have started it off it may be squat jumps I've introduced into me body-weight sets.

I know the feeling. I went through several stages:

Up to mid thirties - injuries heal quickly and entirely.
Up to early forties - they heal more slowly but still entirely.
Now in early fifties - they heal slowly and incompletely.

I'm now a collection of various running injuries that I carry around like a host of squatters that I can't evict. It's dawning on me that the really successful veterans are the ones who've been lucky enough to avoid collecting too many. Either that or they really are Peter Pan.

I was struggling with an achilles injury last year and saw a physio, who has an orthotic specialist working alongside him, in deeside. The orthotics have sorted out the problem brilliantly. Admittably, it was a biomechanical problem, so it makes sense they helped me out so much. If you're interested, PM me and I can put you in touch with them.

I've had a nagging Achilles for 18 months, tried everything from Acupuncture, ultrasound, massage, Traumeel cream and stretching till the light went out. I managed to recover for last years 3 peaks, but then couldn't resist doing the Laing Ghru through Cairngorm and that put me back to square one again so had 6 months of no impact and changed Physio to the Sport injury Clinic at Bolton University £15 per session and the guy worked on prevention not correction (unlike the Bupa rip off) and slowly with new orthotics and neutral shoes instead of over pronator/orthotics have started running again slowly and no running uphill for 15 minutes or more its a bit difficult in Pendle area.

I have found downhill running more painful on the achilles, but the guy also taught me hell of alot about the achilles and the frightening prospects of 4 times your body weight on the achilles when running up hill did nearly put me off. Hope to back racing in July

I tore my right AT in 2000, kept it in pain until expensive operation in 2007, I tried all but the only way to have it pain free was rest. It's and been better than perfect since the operation.
Now I have had pain on my left AT for 18 months. If I jog 30min a day for 4 consecutive days the pain is so bad that I can feel it at night during sleeping. I'll phone the doc tomorrow.

littleniggle I picked up last weekend when I jarred my ankle on a descent, pushed my toes right back and strained the achilles a bit - at least I think that's what happened.

need to clear it up for duddon, so until I get to the physio on Tue: ice or heat or both?

I've been having a recurring problem with my left achilles tendon for a couple of months now. It all appeared to start when I bought a new pair of (road) running shoes which obviously didn't suit me. From day one my achilles became sore and got gradually worse over the next two weeks until it was impossible to walk without limping. I've since ditched them and am using shoes that I've used many times before and don't appear to aggravate it. The trouble is after resting it for a week or so until all the pain is gone it steadily builds up again until it becomes too sore in all types of running shoes even ones I using before the problem first occurred.
Does anyone have any advice or have experienced something similar, or does anyone know of a suitable physio in the East Midlands region who may be able to help?
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

Is it a problem with your achilles feeling tight? If it is, the answer might lie partially at least in making sure you have a good stretch after a run. It certainly helped with mine.

Thanks for the reply,
It doesn't feel abnormally tight just sore. I have to admit I'm not the most disciplined when it comes to stretching although I do try to stretch after each run. :o I ran in the Robin Hood half marathon last weekend, it blew up and I ended up hobbling in. I went for a massage immediatley afterwards, as soon as the lady laid hands on my legs she said OMG your muscles are like concrete do you do enough stretching? so I geuss the answer would be no.:o She also advised getting a proper deep tissues sports massage which I did last Tuesday, but went for a short jog today and the problem is back.
I have been trying to stretch regularly all week but I don't understand why it's just the left achilles, the right feels normal.

I found this site very useful http://www.achillestendon.com/

my experience was that its a long term injury. Pulled mine one April at a bunny run and it wasn't better until September. Stiff and painful when I got up, eased off then limping after the drive to work. Not too bad to run on but stiffened up badly afterwards.

Mind you tendonitis is very different to a ruptured tendon which I did on the other leg....

Best get some professional advice because my problems are down to flat feet and posture.

Thanks for the replys, after studying the website that Freakzoid recommended it looks like a case of tendinosis/tendonitis, and I reckon I can narrow the cause of injury
down to misalignment or improper footwear. My legs haven't felt right all summer, like they haven't recovered from the previous run since about April. Throughout last winter I did most of my training in low profile fell or trail shoes such as X-talons or new balance MT840's. As the snow hung around for so long I hardly wore road shoes from November to February (which is unusual) and I was certainly in good shape in February/March when I was running some of my best times at XC and fell races for a long time.
My road shoes are heavily cushioned as I have suffered badly with shin splints in the past (only in the left leg) and when I started wearing them again late Feb/early March they felt strange, like running in heels.
Since then I have had numerous minor niggles, mainly with the left leg including a very painful glute, and tight hamstring.
I don't think it's an over use problem as it has occurred since I've eased off on the mileage.

Just to add my thoughts on the matter.

My gf had a similar problem to you and after a few trips to a physio she was back running in no time. Arrantly she just had a really tight Achilles, unlike my full blown tendonitis that has stopped me running for almost a year now!

Thanks for all the replies,
I've been to the physio today and he appears to have got to the root of the problem.
It's so simple it's a bit embarrassing really but it makes sense.
My road running shoes are half a size too small.
This has caused me to run with clenched toes which in turn has forced me to run slightly on the edges of my feet. I pronate with the left foot and supinate with the right.
Basically my big toe doesn't properly connect with the floor when I plant my feet, so he's pointed out a few exercies I can do to help correct the foot plant, including just walking in a straight line
with one foot directly in front of the other, as if on a tight rope, making sure the ball of the foot and big toe are planted correctly.
My X-talons are the correct fit which would probably explain why I had no problems throughout the winter and everything started to go wrong when I started
running on road again.

so fingers crossed.

P.s. I hope the tendonitis clears up soon ross88guy

Many or most cases of 'tendonitis' are in fact tendinosis; consequently the problem is not inflammation and damage to the achilles, but instead a neovascularization - blood vessels have grown into the tendon and causing swelling. I have had this problem off-and-on for two years and dealt with and continue to deal with it through excentric training. With the initial problem two years ago I finally was able to see one of the top specialists for tendon and especially achilles injuries (Alfred Håkansson, if you are interested in searching for his research papers). The basic idea is that through excentric training - standing on a stair, raising your weight up using both feet and than gradually lowering your heel while standing on just the one foot - you shear off those vascularizations. The problem is that if you are fit then body weight is not enough and you have to load weight on your back. His recommendation was to use as much weight as you can stand - it will hurt. I use 15 kg in a pack just for maintenance excentric stretching, but when problems begin to increase the load will increase to 30-40 kg (then I do this in the gym). The other important factor is doing this with dedication; when I first had serious problems I would do 15 kg loads at home (3x10reps for each leg - to keep it balanced) in the morning and evening and pass through a gym at the university at some point during the day for a heavy set, building up from 15 to ultimately 40 kg. It took 3-4 weeks to have a noticeable effect.
I was very sceptical this would work, but in the weeks I was waiting for surgery (where he scrapes the inner side of the achilles to shear off these vascularizations) things turned around after 4 weeks. Surgery was first tentatively delayed, but after the improvement started we agreed to cancel it.

It's almost a year since my last race (Passing Clouds) because of achilles tendinosis. Unfortunately for me the injury (confirmed through ultrasound) is where the tendon enters the heel bone. I stopped running last November and started again very tentatively in February this year. I've been to a physio and tried eccentric and various improving stability exercises all to no avail. I'm not sure really what to do next. Has anyone had the injury in the same area and if so did anything in particular work for you?

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Originally Posted by Youngy

It's almost a year since my last race (Passing Clouds) because of achilles tendinosis. Unfortunately for me the injury (confirmed through ultrasound) is where the tendon enters the heel bone. I stopped running last November and started again very tentatively in February this year. I've been to a physio and tried eccentric and various improving stability exercises all to no avail. I'm not sure really what to do next. Has anyone had the injury in the same area and if so did anything in particular work for you?

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I have an ongoing battle with Achilles tendenitis. How many reps do you do with the eccentric excercises and how often? I do up to sixty reps twice a day when mine flares up. Good luck! :)

I've done 15*3 reps per leg 3 times a day weighted by up to 15kg in a rucksack. I must admit I'm more than a little frustrated by the problem. Sometimes I think I'm getting somewhere but then the problem surfaces again and the heel is quite tender. I rarely have problems when I'm running but have been told not to ignore it.

Before I stopped running last year I couldn't walk down the stairs in the morning without holding the banister because my foot was so stiff but once I got some movement into the tendon I never had any pain (classic early tendinosis). Since doing the eccentrics I haven't had the morning stiffness so I guess that's some improvement. Nightmare.

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Originally Posted by Youngy

I've done 15*3 reps per leg 3 times a day weighted by up to 15kg in a rucksack. I must admit I'm more than a little frustrated by the problem. Sometimes I think I'm getting somewhere but then the problem surfaces again and the heel is quite tender. I rarely have problems when I'm running but have been told not to ignore it.

Before I stopped running last year I couldn't walk down the stairs in the morning without holding the banister because my foot was so stiff but once I got some movement into the tendon I never had any pain (classic early tendinosis). Since doing the eccentrics I haven't had the morning stiffness so I guess that's some improvement. Nightmare.

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I've had some thing similar but put it down to early arthritus, did your ankles crack or click in the morning?

Ian

I've had the odd time when the ankle has cracked for a bit but its been ok for a while now. The technician carrying out the ultrasound identified the point of tendinosis very quickly. No blood vessels had formed thankfully but it does appear to be a permanent injury now.

I got a bit fed up with doing short easy runs so did a trundle from Westend valley up to Bleaklow head, over to Shelf Moor and then back over Alport Moor to Fairholmes the other week (a bit daft perhaps). It doesn't appear to have made things worse but the heel is still tender at times.

Insertional achilles tendinopathy according to the latest research papers (I read about everything available when my achilles became problematic), is not as responsive to eccentric training. But a response could take 12 weeks or possibility more before coming even into a maintenance phase for the problem. Look for the following research article if you can get access to it, "New regimen for eccentric calf-muscle training in patients with chronic insertional Achilles tendinopathy: results of a pilot study", P Jonsson, H Alfredson, K Sunding, M Fahlström, J Cook. Br J Sports Med 2008;42:746–749.

Keep working on it!

Rich

Thanks for the encouragement. I've got the article (given to me by my physio). The main difference with the eccentrics is that you don't drop your heel below the level of the front of the foot (if that makes sense). I've done the exercises for several months and intend to keep it up - although the paper says that there's a 70% success rate (hence 30% unsuccessful). Eek.

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/...el-injury.html

These are the exercises that have helped me in the past and which I have recently re-started doing after my right Achilles started giving me trouble

I tend to do 20 x each leg x each exercise at least once but sometimes twice per day, ideally not first thing when the tendon is stiff and sore. I haven't done the fourth exercise i.e. stretch, just the first three

The exercises have worked with both left and right Achilles and usually within just three to four weeks of starting

youngy, don't know which bit of Staffs you are in but, I got my achillies sorted with accupuncture by a bloke in Burton on Trent. http://www.burtonphysiocentre.co.uk/

He's an interesting bloke to talk to, completely dismissive of a lot of treatments such as ultrasound.

Gents

Thanks for the replies. I'll have a look at the exercises and give them a go. I'm reasonably close to Burton so I could give the chap a call. Thanks again.

As another sufferer of this injury (both feet alternatively), all I would add is come back very slowly. I don't even think of running now, start with walking 2 miles on the flat, build up gradually to 5 mile hill walks before I even contemplate adding short 50m flat jogs. And so on, but always hill walk the distance first before trying any running. If you can't walk for 5 hours over the hills without pain - you'll hardly be able to run will you?
Also had acupuncture as part of my therapy from physio, great till the needle went in the wrong place, the involuntary back kick nearly brained her!!

I wrote a second comment yesterday, but it seemingly disappeared into cyberspace. Insertional achilles tendinosis is harder to get rid of, but recent research suggests that eccentric training over 3-4 months can alleviate it in about 2/3 of cases. If you can get a hold of it look for the following research article that came out in 2008:
P Jonsson, H Alfredson, K Sunding, M Fahlström and J Cook. New regimen for eccentric calf-muscle training in patients with chronic insertional Achilles tendinopathy: results of a pilot study. Br. J. Sports Med. 2008;42;746-749

This is a depressing thread as I've been suffering with Achilles Tendonosis since May in both my legs. I've been doing eccentric exercises for months but it's a bugger of an injury to shift. My achilles keep seem to be getting better but as soon as I do a run on them (flat), it flares up again. Guess it's just a waiting game now!

I suffered 7yr running on-and-off with insertional Achille tendon pain. I managed to run well but never really solved the problem. Then operation, it took 6months to jog and 12months to race but it's been better than perfect since, I can't even believe how good it is now.

Now it's the other side. Been doing only gentle jogging for 2yr now. Best things are proper shoes (insole if needed, must be custom made, see a professional), stretching, and eccentric exercise. Either the problem is solved in 6-12 months, or it will never solve without operation.

I know better than anyone else how unpleasant this can be. All my sympathy.
Good luck.

I did the eccentrics for about 4 months (3 times a day) but it hasn't resolved the problem completely. I started running again very slowly - 10 min walk, 5 min run, 10 min walk. Then increased the run segment by 5 mins a week until I was up to an hour run. I don't get the stiffness in the morning anymore, there is no pain when I run but the point of insertion is still a little tender. I'm trying the exercises Ian suggested and may talk to the consultant about other options.