I am just getting over a little achilles tendonitis. I took a few days off from running and iced it. The icing seemed to have positive effects. I am back to running a lot of miles and am always nervous that my tendon will start hurting at any time. I have continued to ice it during the day even though there is no pain now. I guess I am taking preemptive measures to stop it before it starts.
Is it a bad idea to continue to ice my achilles tendon everyday even though there is no longer any pain?
I was told by my PT that icing really never does any harm, but it only provides benefit if there is inflammation.
When I was recovering from achilles tendonitis, and there was no inflammation, I was told to apply heat in order to help blood flow to the area.
Post run stretching (5min) and heel drops help me a lot keeping it at bay.
A lot of professional athletes ice every day, so I’d say it can’t hurt.
My theory. Icing is for pain, injuries and severe inflammation, not for healing.
Most achilles tendonitis isn’t tendonitis (inflammation), but actually tendonosis (degradation). So, appying ice to a tendon that needs blood flow to help heal and repair itself is counter productive.
I find the best healing method is to keep it warm and moving, but not overstressing it. When your tendon is feeling reasonably good- like now, do sets of eccentric calf stretches every day to strengthen and stretch them.
Icing it in general will not hurt it. A better preemptive strike would be doing calf raises off a step through the fullest range of motion possible concentrically/eccentrically. It would be a good habit to do them before and after your run. This will help you to continue the remodeling process.
Icing it in general will not hurt it. A better preemptive strike would be doing calf raises off a step through the fullest range of motion possible concentrically/eccentrically. It would be a good habit to do them before and after your run. This will help you to continue the remodeling process.
thanks
add eccentric calf stretches to your routine and that should keep it at bay. Also make sure you roll out the calf muscle good. Use a tennis ball.
Just an additional note. You are correct that most athletes don’t actually experience achilles tendonitis (inflammation) but are suffering from tendonosis (degradation). However ice in this instance can be therapeutic by stimulating blood flow to the area, it just doesn’t do anything for the associated pain. Heat tends to help a bit more when there is pain and limited mobility. In my experience achilles tendonisis has been more the result of systemic imbalances in nutrition and hydration, especially if the situation becomes chronic.
I have good experience with heat too. Either ‘ankle warmers’ or external heat just before running (hair dryer, HOT foot bath).
Running early morning with no achilles ‘preparation’ is a recipe for pain, IME. And pain during the run makes me more prone to pain for days and weeks afterwards.
Can you expand on the nutrition and hydration ‘teaser’, please.