Achilles Tendinitis Prevention
(2 discussions)
Hi,
I’m usually able, eventually, to overcome Achilles tendon pain (i’m a runner) with ice and rest. As i get older, however, recovery takes longer. What i need to know is how to prevent the injury’s return. I imagine calf strengthening would help, but am wide open for any additional suggestions. Thank you.
2 comments
hollywood60064
Another wway of attacking pain is to make sure that individual muscles as well as contributing groups are able to perform at a high level.
The one aspect that people fall short on while trying to improve performance is that they are unaware of the stresses that their activities put on their bodies. Stresses at a specific area and stresses throughout the entire body. And how that stress builds up and helps to create pain and dysfunction.
De-stress! your mind, your calfs, feet, face, your chest, and every other of the hundreds of parts of your body. There are hundreds of things that you can do to relax. So do them, by yourself, with a friend, let someone massage you, just to relax, and to find specific areas of concern.
Trigirl
Looking back in your training “log”- are there any precipitating factors that bring on your pain? Often, too much too soon will flare up tendonitis. Too many hills or too much speed work before you have built a base foundation of long, slow miles may contribute to the flare-ups, too. When you return to running are you doing so gradually and building up no more than 10 % every week? Also, look at your shoes. Are they worn out, are they too cushioned in the heel, are they for your foot type? As far as other prevention strategies, you can work on gentle stretching of your calf and hamstrings as these will often lead to tightness in the achilles. However, when you are going through an episode of achilles pain- never stretch; just ice and rest. Wait until things have really calmed down and then try some gentle stretching. Strength training the legs may be helpful, just remember to start when you are not feeling any achilles pain and ease into it. Also, balance out your leg exercises. If you work the hamstrings, work the quads, etc. Have you tried cross-training? Is running just the culprit? Good luck and stay healthy!