Hi, Cathe, I am having a problem with my Achilles acting up, I am trying to just do low impact for cardio,I also have been doing a lot of weights and taking off completely from cardio. I want to lose some body fat and I know I need to do cardio, so what type would you suggest while having this achilles problem? Any suggestions would be great.- Pam
Achilles Tendon Problem and Cardio
- Thread starter elvira444
- Start date
andtckrtoo
Cathlete
A lot of us have issues with our Achilles. You might want to post this in Open Forum as you'll get a lot of great advice from the ladies.
For my Achilles issues, I take it slow in warming up then thoroughly stretch my heels (downward dogs do wonders for this) before I do any cardio. After I work out, I stretch again, then I ice my heel for 20 minutes. If the pain is flairing a bit more than usual, I ice three times a day - 20 minutes each. It helps. I've been training for my first Half Marathon, so I have not been doing low impact.
If you have chronic problems - it could be that you have very tight calves, and working on stretching those regularly will help, too.
For my Achilles issues, I take it slow in warming up then thoroughly stretch my heels (downward dogs do wonders for this) before I do any cardio. After I work out, I stretch again, then I ice my heel for 20 minutes. If the pain is flairing a bit more than usual, I ice three times a day - 20 minutes each. It helps. I've been training for my first Half Marathon, so I have not been doing low impact.
If you have chronic problems - it could be that you have very tight calves, and working on stretching those regularly will help, too.
Not Cathe here.
Here are a few little things that, in the long run, might help.
It is my understanding that the higher the heels, the greater the likelihood of Achilles problems, since the tendons shorten. Imagine the effect of each inch of heel height. If you wear heels, trying switching as much as possible to flatter shoes.
When you are in a hot shower or bath, and your heel is warm, trying stretching it some. The heat will help the flexibility. When you get out of the tub or shower, do some stretches you would normally do for Achilles, again, hopefully the heat will permit greater flexibility.
Some yoga books I read in the past talk about stretching in two stages. Apparently our muscles have an instinctive tendency to resist a stretch in order to protect a muscle from injury, e.g. if you stretch quickly, the muscle tenses up to resist in order to protect itself. So the yoga books said to go into a stretch gently and hold the stretch for about 10 seconds. By the end of that, the muscle should loosen a bit, then try to deepen the stretch a bit further and hold that for another 10 seconds. If this feels uncomfortable or hurts, then go slower. Most likely if you browse in some yoga books in a bookstore for 10 or 20 minutes, you will find this discussed in greater detail.
On several Cathe DVDs that I have, she does calf lifts. You stand on the balls of your feet on a step with your heels hanging over the edge and do regular calf lifts. You get more stretch since your heel is dipping below level. If you don't have a step, put two dumbbells on the floor (be sure to use the kind that don't roll), and step on those, and go up and down. When you do this, hold onto to something for balance. Flexible Achilles don't do you much good if you smash your head on a table after losing your balance. I put the dumbbells on the floor behind a chair and then hold onto the back of the chairlightly, just for balance. My kickboxing teacher has us do these in three positions, feet facing forward, toes pointing outwards, and toes pointing inward, to reach different areas of the calf muscle. Also, if your Achilles are tight, be very very careful to control how low you go. Going down, you have momentum and your body weight urging you down, so be sure not to lose your focus or you might tear something on the downward movement (mega-Ouch!!). Doing them slowly will help with this. A modification of this is just to put a length of two by four on the floor by your bathroom sink. Stand on it while you brush your teeth just letting your heels hang down.
Good luck.
Here are a few little things that, in the long run, might help.
It is my understanding that the higher the heels, the greater the likelihood of Achilles problems, since the tendons shorten. Imagine the effect of each inch of heel height. If you wear heels, trying switching as much as possible to flatter shoes.
When you are in a hot shower or bath, and your heel is warm, trying stretching it some. The heat will help the flexibility. When you get out of the tub or shower, do some stretches you would normally do for Achilles, again, hopefully the heat will permit greater flexibility.
Some yoga books I read in the past talk about stretching in two stages. Apparently our muscles have an instinctive tendency to resist a stretch in order to protect a muscle from injury, e.g. if you stretch quickly, the muscle tenses up to resist in order to protect itself. So the yoga books said to go into a stretch gently and hold the stretch for about 10 seconds. By the end of that, the muscle should loosen a bit, then try to deepen the stretch a bit further and hold that for another 10 seconds. If this feels uncomfortable or hurts, then go slower. Most likely if you browse in some yoga books in a bookstore for 10 or 20 minutes, you will find this discussed in greater detail.
On several Cathe DVDs that I have, she does calf lifts. You stand on the balls of your feet on a step with your heels hanging over the edge and do regular calf lifts. You get more stretch since your heel is dipping below level. If you don't have a step, put two dumbbells on the floor (be sure to use the kind that don't roll), and step on those, and go up and down. When you do this, hold onto to something for balance. Flexible Achilles don't do you much good if you smash your head on a table after losing your balance. I put the dumbbells on the floor behind a chair and then hold onto the back of the chairlightly, just for balance. My kickboxing teacher has us do these in three positions, feet facing forward, toes pointing outwards, and toes pointing inward, to reach different areas of the calf muscle. Also, if your Achilles are tight, be very very careful to control how low you go. Going down, you have momentum and your body weight urging you down, so be sure not to lose your focus or you might tear something on the downward movement (mega-Ouch!!). Doing them slowly will help with this. A modification of this is just to put a length of two by four on the floor by your bathroom sink. Stand on it while you brush your teeth just letting your heels hang down.
Good luck.
debbydarestobefit
Cathlete
Many good suggestions are already offered ... I triple (quadruple, whatever) the suggestion to stretch regularly to loosen that achilles. In addition, you might consider water aerobics in the deep end or swimming in general for your cardio for awhile. I know there's some of the opinion that people tend to retain more body fat if swimming is their main/solo form of cardio, but I think some cardio would be better than none. I'm not much of a swimmer but did water aerobics when at the worst of my foot pain. Also biking/spinning ... just be sure your seat height is properly adjusted and your leg/foot position is correct. This can be a difficult injury to resolve ... be patient with it and best wishes.
candy morales
Cathlete
Hi Pam,
Whatever you do, be very careful. You may have already developed Achilles tendinitis, or Achilles tendinosis. I had both, and when I didn't listen to my body, and take some time off, it winded up rupturing along with part of my gastroc. I suggest taking time off, or just do rehab work. Trust me, it pays off in the end. My condition was so bad, my doctor had to actually remove my Achilles tendon, and replace it with the tendon that connects to the big toe. I'm still recovering and this was done in April 05. Good luck! Please REST!!!
Candy;(
Whatever you do, be very careful. You may have already developed Achilles tendinitis, or Achilles tendinosis. I had both, and when I didn't listen to my body, and take some time off, it winded up rupturing along with part of my gastroc. I suggest taking time off, or just do rehab work. Trust me, it pays off in the end. My condition was so bad, my doctor had to actually remove my Achilles tendon, and replace it with the tendon that connects to the big toe. I'm still recovering and this was done in April 05. Good luck! Please REST!!!
Candy;(
Hi,
Not Cathe, but I strained my achilles tendons after taking Levaquin, an antibiotic which is in the same family as Cipro. I've attached a link to a wesite that I found very helpful because it gives a description of levels of achilles injuries. It is also where I found the connection between that particular family of antibiotics and tendon strains. It's quite interesting. Aside from rest and stretching, I used the stick on my calves and achilles 3-4 times a day. I read where it increases the blood flow to damaged tissue. That probably helped me the most; and of course stretching. Compounding my problem was that I probably started exercising too soon and then strained the muscles along the side of my ankles. I'm now back 100% but it has probably taken 4 months.
http://www.achillestendon.com/Injuries.html
Tracy
Not Cathe, but I strained my achilles tendons after taking Levaquin, an antibiotic which is in the same family as Cipro. I've attached a link to a wesite that I found very helpful because it gives a description of levels of achilles injuries. It is also where I found the connection between that particular family of antibiotics and tendon strains. It's quite interesting. Aside from rest and stretching, I used the stick on my calves and achilles 3-4 times a day. I read where it increases the blood flow to damaged tissue. That probably helped me the most; and of course stretching. Compounding my problem was that I probably started exercising too soon and then strained the muscles along the side of my ankles. I'm now back 100% but it has probably taken 4 months.
http://www.achillestendon.com/Injuries.html
Tracy