![]() Read our Post on Are you doing the correct calf and achilles exercises to prevent injury?.Just make sure you are not making the 4 most common mistakes runners make when foam rolling. Instead, try foam rolling your calves and applying a warm water bag to the muscle (but avoid heating the tendon!). Foam rolling your calf muscles can loosen them up without tugging too much on the Achilles tendon. While calf tightness and ankle range of motion are legitimate concerns, I still don’t think that aggressive calf stretching is an ideal solution, because of the tugging action on the tendon.While you are addressing the damage to the tendon fibers through eccentric heel drops, there are some steps you can take to help ameliorate some of the other contributing factors to your injury. Is There Anything Else I Can Do To Speed Healing? The exercise of choice is the eccentric heel drop, which has an impressive research pedigree backing its use. Instead, the main objective in treating Achilles tendon injuries should be healing the damaged tendon. While we might propose that runners do calf stretching to loosen up their calf muscles and increase their ankle range of motion, this often does more harm than good-tugging aggressively on the damaged tendon fibers is much like pulling on either end of a knotted rope. The new collagen fibers look much like a mess of spaghetti when viewed on a microscope, in contrast to the smooth, aligned appearance that healthy tendon fibers have. The body is able to lay down new fibers to replace the damaged ones, but it does so in a rather disorganized way. When a tendon is damaged, collagen fibers are ruptured. The cause of this seems to be the collagen fibers: Unfortunately, it seems that the thick tendons of the body do not heal as rapidly or completely as we’d like. Insertional Achilles tendonitis tends to be more difficult to get rid of, often because the bursa, a small fluid-filled sac right behind the tendon, can become irritated as well.įor a long time, researchers and doctors muddled about trying to address factors like calf strength & tightness, ankle range of motion, and pronation, assuming that the Achilles tendon would heal itself once these factors were corrected. The rest are mostly cases of “ insertional” Achilles tendonitis, which occurs within an inch or so of the heelbone. If you continue to train on it, the pain in the tendon will be more sharp and you will feel it more often, eventually impeding your ability even to jog lightly.Ībout two-thirds of Achilles tendonitis cases occur at the “ midpoint” of the tendon, a few inches above the heel. It may get worse with faster running, uphill running, or when wearing spikes and other low-heeled running shoes. ![]() ![]() This may be because of the faster absolute speeds men tend to train at, or may be due to other biomechanical factors.Īchilles tendonitis (or achilles tendinitis as it is actually known in the medical world) typically starts off as a dull stiffness in the tendon, which gradually goes away as the area gets warmed up. Achilles tendon injuries account for 5-12% of all running injuries, and occur disproportionately in men. And the faster you run, the more strain you put on the Achilles tendon.Īs such, it’s prone to injury in many runners, but particularly those who do a lot of speed training, uphill running, or use a forefoot-striking style. Virtually all of the force generated when you “toe off” the ground during running is transmitted by the Achilles, and this force can be as much as three times your body weight. The Achilles tendon is the thickest and strongest tendon in your body, connecting your calf muscles to the back of your heel. This guide will explain why achilles tendon issues occur, and what you can do to limit the time it takes to heal it if you are suffering from achilles tendon aching, soreness after a run, creaking, or heel pain. ![]() Luckily, we’re here to help, and not just by telling you to ice your achilles and rest. ![]() If you’re reading this, then you likely have one. You may have achilles pain during your run, feel creaking after your run, and feel tight and stiff as you walk around.Įvery day you have that sinking feeling that something is wrong, you wonder “should I run or is it time to stop running till it heals?”.Īchilles pain in runners can be stubborn, painful and depressing. Your achilles is probably already painful when running. This is most likely an article you don’t want to read. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |