Two Questions (1) What is wrong with my Achilles and (2) What type of doctor should I see?
Even though I know I am 27 years old. My body reminds me that it is trapped in a 48 year old body. My left Achilles has been getting tighter and Saturday evening when I went for a run it started to get very sore. By the time I hobbled home I could feel the tendon moving inside the sheath. I also have what seems like the beginning of planters and the ball of my foot under my big toe is sore.
Any thoughts as to what the problem is and what type of Dr should I make an appointment with?
Google “eccentric calf contraction for achilles tendonitis”.In summary running is most stressful when one lands with the elongated contracted calf muscle.To prevent this injury which results in both plantar fasciitis and achilles tendonitis,one should do eccentric calf contraction exercises on a REGULAR basis.Details can be found in the google search.
Achilles tendonitis. If you are new to running or you are suddenly increasing mileage this is very common. In the old days this was a common track team issue we did not even see a Dr. in most cases. Beside treating it you want to figure out why you got it. Common causes are rapid build-up in mileage, change in running surface, different shoes and poor flexibility. You should take about a week off from running, after that try it out gradually. Stop when it starts hurting and ice it. Anti-inflammatories help, too. Once you are pain-free, you can gently rub out that place where you feel the tendon moving.
Before you presume it is tendinitis, which is acute and painful and not all that uncommon, get it checked out and make sure it hasn’t morphed into tendinosis, much more chronic and difficult to get rid of it. i developed tendinitis while training hard for IM CDA and learned alot about it. if you don’t treat it, itis turns into osis and then you get yourself a bigger problem. here are some steps i would take:
stop running or at least limit your runs.
ice 5 times per day, every 2 or 3 hours. really get the pressure where it hurts.
see a qualified PT or sportsmassage therapist. i endured DTF treatment, which is deep transverse friction and which was incredibly painful, but eventually tore up all that bad tissue and left me with good tendons.
Make sure you running shoes are in good condition and look at orthotics, if need be,
incorporate at least one strength training day per week with focus on the calves, especially the eccentric phase.
pray. that injury is highly treatable but the treatment is highly painful.
you will be fine. i had it bad but still got plenty of racing in and now am pain-free.
Don’t do what I did this past April. I basically self-diagnosed my Achilles pain to a general practitioner so I could get referred to PT. (insurance reasons) Then, I learned my insurance didn’t cover the PT…about $400 too late. My injury came after two consecutive, hilly trail runs, with an aggressive increase in mileage. (yup, not too smart) I assumed over-training to be the cause.
As others suggested, go see a Podiatrist, or someone who specializes in running/foot & ankle injuries. After 6 months of no progress, I was finally sent for an MRI and discovered a slight tear. Just waiting to set a date to have it surgically repaired.
My pain presented itself as tendonitis, which I have battled before. However, the impact of running caused most of the pain, rather than the pain of a tight, inflamed tendon.