Achilles Tendonitis??

[niclyf]

Hey Gang ..

The last two days, I've noticed a tight feeling on the back and very bottom of my right leg, where the calf meets the ankle. I'm thinking this would be my achilles?, but I'm not sure? It's not excrutiating, however when I was doing Rythmic Step this morning, it felt really tight and slightly sore. Have I somehow strained this area, and would that be my achilles that I feel aching? How exactly should I treat this strain? I hate the idea of taking a few days off to nurse it because I know I'll miss my cardio, however I don't want to do more damage by trying to work through it if I do need to take a couple rest days? My chiropractor who is an avid runner recommended non-impactful cardio such as the Elliptical Trainer, biking, or walking. Any thoughts?

Any insight/advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!
Nicole

 

[Beets]

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jul-08-02 AT 05:37PM (Est)[/font][p]Sounds like you are in the early stages of Achilles tendonitis. If you take care now and heed the symptoms, you can prevent full blown tendonitis. I would lay off the stepping and high impact activities for a week or so. Try icing the tendon if there is swelling. Stretch the calf muscles gently every day, even a few times per day. You can hang the affected foot of a step until you feel the stretch--being careful not to overstretch. Keep the leg straight and hold for 30 seconds then bend the knee a little--this will stretch the soleus muscle which lies underneath the gastrocnemius--both of these muscles attach to the Achilles tendon. It can help to wear shoes with a 1/2 inch heel to take some of the stress off the tendon. Try these suggestions for a week or so and see if this helps at all. Unfortunately, tendons have a very weak blood supply and can take a long time to heal so you want to really baby this impending injury to minimize your downtime. Hope this helps!
Good luck!

 

[niclyf]

Thanks Beets!

I've been icing it, and while I've tried stretching it, I've been a little hesitant for fear of stretching it too far and adding more strain to the area. I'm being careful to "baby" it. I'll take your advice and try mildly stretching it a few times per day and hopefully that'll help to speed the healing process.

Thanks again!
Nicole

 

[kristina]

Having had this issue myself, and a DH who blew out his and had to have surgery last year to reconnect his AT, I strongly advise at least 1, preferably 2, weeks of low impact. My doc has me take ibuprofin (200 mg) or 1 aleve 45 minutes before cardio for 2 weeks when mine starts up. Feel better!

 

[clareMc]

I had exactly the same trouble back in March. How much step training do you do? Do you cross train for cardio or always do the same? Could be you are facing injury due to over-use of the same muscles and ligaments. I was all-step and brought this on myself.

My achilles flared up with Rythmic Step too. I immediately rested the foot for three days. Then, I continued weight training, and tried other cardio options. Frst off, power walking with good fitting running shoes. I pushed it as hard as poss to make it a good cardio workout. I tried cardio kicks and another kickbox video I have and they did not cause any pain so I began to include them in my avoid-the-step cros training program. I hate low impact routines so, I tried some hi/lo after about a week, using Cathe's MIC, and that was fine. For some reason, step training really aggravated it because you are stepping backwards and really stretching that back of your heel a lot, but with hi/lo I was fine. Swimming is also a fabulous option whenever you get an injury. I tested my ankle out with Rythnic step after two weeks but it told me it was not ready yet, so I continued with my kickbox/hi-lo/powerwalk/weight training cross training program until finally after one month, I tested my ankle again and it held. I have had no further trouble since.

Note: you really need to do extra stretches for the calf, lower calf with both straight and bended knee positions and hold them for longer than Cathe does. Push against the wall types work well for me. Also stretch out the front of your leg and practice toe taps as part of your warm ups as Cathe advises on her ask Cathe page on a recent posting. Also, try taking vitamin E which helps with joints' healing and flexibility. All of these things worked for me. Also, I think mine started with planar fascitis (pain on the underside of the foot, trouble with arches): so check your shoes also. Has the tread gone? have you had them longer than a year? Do they provide good arch support?

Hope all this helps and good luck

Clare

 

[niclyf]

Hi Clare

The very things you suggested for cross training I've been doing this week, and was surprised to find the same end results that you did. Kickboxing didn't seem to bother my achilles at all, nor did hi/lo. Yesterday since my AT was feeling fine, I went to the health club and hit the treadmill to try a modified run (slower and less distance than usual) and found that to be fine as well. While I do a lot of step, I've always been really good about cross training, and do a mix of step, hi/lo, running, kickboxing and weight training. Swimming is the only thing that I just can't seem to get into.

As a safeguard I've kept my AT wrapped this week in an ACE bandage and have been icing it at least once a day, right after the injury, several times a day. I've also incorporated the toe-taps per Cathe's suggestions. While it's definitely feeling a lot better, I'll probably keep things low key throughout the remainder of the weekend just to give it extra time to recover, and attempt to incorporate more of my regular workouts next week.

Thanks a bunch!!
Nicole