Achilles problems

[Youngy]

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.

[molehill]

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!!

[Rich_Sweden]

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

[TheHeathens]

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!

[Gambatte]

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.

[Youngy]

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.