I am looking for any assistance I can find to help alleviate achilles strain in my right leg while on long bike rides. The problem occurs when riding for longer than an hour, and then shows up again on my run days. I am icing like crazy, and seeing a foot and ankle specialist next week. I welcome any and all ideas/thoughts/remedies that you may have. Thanks!
I had the same issue a while ago. My doc advised me to move my cleats as far back on the shoe as possible. Worked for me…
Nice having a triathlete as my doctor!
Rest is good too.
Thanks. I moved my cleat back as far as I could 2 weeks ago. May try new shoes as well to see if that helps.
this may be obvious but have you taken any time off since it started hurting? even the right solution (e.g. moving the cleats back) won’t actually fix the problem if you don’t let it recover first.
Yeah - I took about 4 months off, which should have been plenty of time.
unfortunately, it has been about 1-1/2 years for me and its still not recovered.
Maybe 4 months isn’t enough…
x2 on the rest. Are you sure it’s from biking? I wasn’t able to walk but I was able to bike for at least 3+ hours pain free. I also stopped all forms of run training.
Do you know why you strained one side and not the other?
Often it is due to chronic ankle plantar flexor tightness (gastronemius, soleus) following tears to the muscle bellies, there followed by adhesions and fibrotic scarring shortening the functional length of these muscles.
A wholistic approach to achilles tendonitis will do everything to reduce strain on the tendon.
- sports taping is recommended to unload the tendon.
- rocker soled shoes like the MBT are also effective at unloaders when walking…but watch them on stairs and slopes for the first few weeks.
- very deep massage into the calf compartment. this should be done by a physical therapist or extremely experienced sports masseur, as the massage is meant to tear adhesions and break up deep scarring. A thorough medical history is required first and preferably a mri or ultrasound to visualize the extent of damage to the muscle belly.
- often a tight calf is accompanied by a tight medial longitudinal arch of the foot, and these should be massaged firmly and regularly stretched.
- stretches stretches stretches. I don’t think amateur athletes realize how much stretching pros do. hard rides always cause inflammation and microtrauma to muscles and tendons. Inflammatory exudate ‘glues’ the tissue together into a shorter length if not stretched regularly. Over time, loss of flexibility is additive without regular effective stretching.
- icing is rarely done effectively. for best results do not use ice in a plastic bag or packet. use crushed ice wrapped in 1-2 layers of wet light cotton fabric. bind on firmly to tendon at site of pain, put foot in plastic bag to collect ice as it melts, wrap large dry towel around and always elevate limb to level of heart or above. leave on for 30-45 minutes, take off for 10-30m, and repeat until pain level decreases to 3/10. Tissue can be iced like this for up to 6 hours, after which longer breaks between icing are necessary.
- after pain has subsided to 2-3/10 and is not easily exacerbated, contrast use of ice and heat can be tried along with gentle stretching.
- often people who suffer bad strains and sprains do not practise good fluid balance, and end up dehydrated. Dehydration deprives muscles and tendons of lubrication, warmth, and elasticity. Fluid is pulled from these tissues to maintain blood volume leaving the tissue vulnerable to damage. Adequate fluid intake is just as important during healing as it is during activity.
- obviously a good diet is paramount to good healing.
- keeping the foot up at work and home as much as possible and doing gentle foot pf and df movement will improve circulation and therefore healing.
A good sports physician or physical therapist should have told you all of this.
If they try and talk you into a cortisone shot, don’t have more than two.
winstonw,
good advice.
how do you unload the achilles tendon with sports tape?
Try new cleats if yours are old. When they get worn, there is lateral wobble that is stabilized by the Achilles, causing problems.
winstonw,
good advice.
how do you unload the achilles tendon with sports tape?
achilles/tendinitis/taping
runnersworld.com/article
Also, some achilles tendonitis is exacerbated by overpronation and orthotics should be considered.
I think you’ve had some great device, especially from Winstonw.
One suggestion I’d add is doing eccentric exercises - I’ve been plagued by achilles problems on and off over the last few years and this is the one thing that has really helped me. There has also been a lot of research showing these to be effective.
Basically stand on a step on your tip toes, then lift your uninjured foot off the step, and lower your weight down using your injured leg. Then replace your other foot on the step, and raise yourself back up using both feet, and repeat…lots of times! You can find out more info about these exercises on my website: http://www.intelligent-triathlon-training.com/Achilles-tendinitis.html
Good luck!
I would hate to try to run with that tape job, have you had experience with it?
I would hate to try to run with that tape job, have you had experience with it?
If a patient has chronic tendonitis that is not improving, I recommend they have ‘relative’ rest, which means stop running and exacerbating the -itis.
The first link is a taping technique to decrease strain when getting about activities of daily living requiring walking. The tape is inelastic.
The second link involves elastic kinesio tape, which is used more successfully during sport. However, longer or higher intensity exercise with a higher sweat rate compromises all tape.
Personally, for professional athletes, I use a combination of inelastic and elastic tape depending on the stage of damage or healing, work volume, and timing into the competitive season.