Achilles Tendonosis Recovery

A quick question for anyone thats recovered from Achilles tendonosis....

How did the recovery progress? and at what point did you decide "I'm healed"?

Was it a very gradual run of 3 Miles pain free, then 4 Miles then 5 etc... or was it a very sudden.. it hurts.. then suddenly it doesn't?

Basically I'm suffering and am doing all the the eccentric stretches as advised by physio and cut my running down to approx 3miles every other day.. or stopping shorter if it starts to hurt followed by ice and just wondering what I can expect.




Ta

I suspect if you're susceptible to Achilles problems like tendonosis and tendonitis the problem never really clear up. I've had issues for 4 or 5years and they come and go. I hit the eccentric excercises hard for 6 to 8weeks, the problem goes then it comes back when I increase mileage. Fell running (big hills, walking the ups etc) doesn't seem to bad but if I say tried to train properly for PPP or a road marathon it wouldn't be long before the pain and swollen Achilles returned

hmm.. not what i was wanting to hear :( i was hoping for "its all clear, and i can now run sub 4min miles uphill"

When you get a bout do you stop running during that 6-8 weeks?

I went to a physio and podiatrist after damaging my achilles last year. After resting from running (was allowed to cycle and swim) for 4 weeks and the fitting of orthotics I havent had a niggle since.

Empathy to you Beasty.

Had a bad decade and still susceptible. Reducing miles at the first sign of stiffness and keeping up a few exercises works for me - fingers crossed.

Keeping off the roads seemed significant. Also, once, 6 weeks after a partial tear, Phsio suggested long walk over the hills, even an afternoon, with possible jog at end probably be okay. It was possible and discovery the hills were available again cured the depression.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by beasty1711

When you get a bout do you stop running during that 6-8 weeks?

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No I don't stop running. I do the eccentric exercises and it clears up usually within a few weeks. I've had it in both heels at different times but it's always gone. I do the exercises two or three times per day. I don't do any road running normally and I'm convinced that helps a lot!

Another sufferer here compounded with some nice Haglunds spurs :o.
As stated above, the eccentric exercises keep things moving and when it really flares up I end up wearing a night splint for a couple of hours after a run - seems to help me but unfortunately always niggling.

I've ended up with almost the whole year off due to achilles issues in 2011.

I had to amend the eccentric exercises slightly as dropping below horizontal aggravated the problem and from there started to see improvements.

The night-splint helped, but biggest improvements came with some pretty intense physio sessions loosening off the areas causing the problem in the first place (mostly lower back for me!).

Have been doing stretches and strength exercises (core, glutes,quads...) religiously now (minimum 3x per week!) for 4 month and have seen massive improvements. Didn't do any running when really bad, but not sure a 3 mile sanity run would have made much difference...

Another thing that helps me if achilles stiffens up is a) really stretching the plantar fascia b) a run in my slippers (ie. Hokas! - i used to laugh and point, but 2 club mates recommended them, one who also had achilles problems).

Until a month ago i used to say i was 'managing' the problem rather than cured, but am still seeing improvements and can sometimes do 2 runs on consecutive days :)

hmm.. thanks for all the comments.. its given me food for thought.. especially the comments about road running as since it flaired up, all of my running has been road following suggestions by the physio, and what few off road runs i've done, (Lads Leap, Wrekin) have been ok. I guess the physio went along the lines of off road may cause odd twisting and tugging

i've been physio'ing since feb along with heel drops i'm hypermobile in the ankel join so maybe dropping too much below horizontal as Britta mentioned.

Are the night splints just the plastic boots for PF?

The fact that very few seem to have gone from injured to 100% cured suggests i need to get on with it as i'd sort of been treating it as i would a muscle pull.. i.e. oooo still sore so must be injured still

http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/...eel-injury.htm

These are the exercises I do. First three only. 20 to 30 each leg x 3 per day

Night splint http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PhysioRoom...item7217299c02

Although I'm not sure how anyone actually manages to sleep with one of these on....

I had this 4 years ago, and after struggling with it for a few months finally got to see the specialist, Håkan Alfredsson, who pioneered the eccentric training approach for treatment of achilles tendinopathy. I was actually put on the waiting list for surgery (to scrape away the blood vessels - neovascularization - that grow into the achilles causing tendinopathy), but he showed what they really meant by eccentric training. In the 6 six weeks I waited I followed his program for intense training - I didn't believe it would work, but it began to reduce the problem and surgery was cancelled.
Physios will often recommend eccentric training where you stand on a stair edge and push up with both feet and slowly lower on the one, dropping the heel below the stair tread. 15x on each side and then do this 3x. Then do this at least 3x each day. However, what many physios neglect is that you have to gradually add weight on your back. If it does not hurt while doing the training then it is not being done right, essentially. The better trained you are, the more weight you will ultimately need. I began with 10 kg in a pack, and after a few days progressed to 15 kg, and then once a day tried to stop by the gym and progressed finally up to 40 kg over the first 3 weeks. It is important to keep doing the training beyond when your achilles begins to feel better. The point of the training is to alter/damage these neovascularizations and accompanying nerves. I think the protocol requires that you continue this for at least 12 weeks. Over that time period I was slowly able to build back up to normal training amounts, 5-7 days/week running (cycling on the off days).
Now, whenever I feel a twinge in my achilles I start immediately with a program of eccentric training, and I keep 10 kg in an old pack in the closet by the stairs ready at all times. I also use this to keep chronic plantar fasciitis under control, along with different size balls to roll under the foot.

Alfredsson's story behind this method is that he had achilles tendinitis himself, as it was called then, and was frustrated that his dept. head wouldn't operate on it, because then Alfredsson would be on sick leave for a while. Alfredsson figured he would give eccentric training a shot, but assumed more-or-less that he would just snap off his achilles when he increased the weight more and more and then he would have to have an operation! Instead he found that it reversed the problem and it got better.

Thanks for all the advice guys :)

Reg the splint: I used the Strassburg sock - could never wear a hard boot... http://www.physioroom.com/product/St...030/38229.html

Hi All

I hurt my achillies tendon a couple of weeks ago, i think during a circuit training session. It gradually got worse to the point that i couldn't walk properly due to the pain and i had to stop running a couple of days later. I've been to my GP who is a runner himself and also to a private physio and it has been confirmed as achilloies tendonosis rather than a partial rupture/tear, which i was fearing. The physio put some rock tape on it and although some people report good results i'm not sure whether its doing anything much - i've been putting an ice pack on it and doing the eccentric exercises too but after a week of this it doesn't feel any better. On the advice of my GP I am preparing to have to pull out of the Excalibur marathon on 23/03/13, which i've been training for and looking forward to - can't believe how frustrating it is not to be able to run!

Is anyone able to offer any insights re: how long this type of injurt takes to recover from? Looking at other posts it seems the answer might be akin to "how long is a piece of string?"

I was also wondering if there anything else i could do to speed up recovery - i notice the previous post re: the Stassburg sock, but isn't that for a different type of injury, Plantar Fasciitis? - or can this type of sock be helfpul for achillies problems too?

I was also wondering if anyone who has had this type of injury has tried using an ankel support / gel heel pads to aid recovery and possibly provide support when initially starting to run again - it wasn't suggested by the GP or physio but i came across this on eBay and wondered if it might help - i'm pretty desperate for anything that will help get back up and running! : http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gel-Achill...item337fde66e5

cheers
Tid

Personally i never started to get any real improvements until i dropped my milage.. .a lot more than i'd thought . I went from 50miles per week down to 2-3miles every other day.

I found that i would always get to 20mins before getting pain, so i started to run for 15mins.
I also found that sleeping in a plantar boot helped. even though i never had problems with my plantar region. as silly as it sounds, i was finding the weight and pressure on the duvet was causing my foot to flex meaning that for most of the night my tendon was healing with it in a shortend position.

I also found cycling really helped as it didnt hurt but also kept the area mobile.

In the end id say it took a good couple of months of rehab. Ok so i was running in the time, but only a couple of miles at a time.
Sorry i cant give you any more help.

thanks Beasty. At the moment i can't run on it at all, it is too painful to run even a mile on it. I think i'm going to try the exercise bike in the gym tomorrow and I have just ordered a plantar boot - fingers cross that it works, some of the reviews are encouraging.
cheers

These really do work for lower limb injuries rehab.
http://www.aquajogger.com/

I had a year of it a couple of years ago, I found running on the flat helped (not the best advice on a Fellrunning forum), never never never rub, massage it etc, and was recommended Serrapeptase by a guy at work which may have been purely coincidental but appeared to clear it up in days, it still niggles every now and again but nothing like it was when it was full on, hope it clears up soon as it's a pig :thunbdown:

My AT is very strange. No pain when running or walking. I only get pain when sitting down or lying on the sofa. No position alleviates the pain. But I'm running pain free, so not complaining !

thanks for your replies.

Its been a couple of weeks since my previous post and I have been able to do a couple of short runs, 3m last Saturday and 5.5m on Monday - i can now put my full weight on the foot with the AT problem, but its still pretty sore afterwards and my calf muscle is now rock hard and aching (pain seems to be gradually creeping higher up my leg).

Daletown i ordered some Serrapeptase as you suggested and have been taking it daily for about a week. I'm seeing quite alot of improvement but as you say its difficult to know whether its coincidental and it could be as much to do with a few nights in the plantar boot, ongoing alternate ice and deep heat and plenty of rest. I guess i'll never know whether the recovery is due to one thing in particular or a combination, i'm just so relieved to be able to run again (albeit slowly and cautiously)

Jez - thats weird, i guess you'll just have to run more to relieve the pain?!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jez Hellewell

My AT is very strange. No pain when running or walking. I only get pain when sitting down or lying on the sofa. No position alleviates the pain. But I'm running pain free, so not complaining !

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I also had this, a real sharp pain when sitting watching TV or lying in bed, someone told me it's down to the 'scabs' around the injury sticking and then releasing when you move slightly??

Good to hear it's getting better Tid, remember to back off if it's gets sore again, it makes for less time off in the log run.:)