I am just coming back from a hamstring injury. Pretty much fine when running, still a little tight on the bike. Sometime I will get a pain on either side of my achilles tendon on my left leg. It can range from a feeling of tightness to a slight burning almost and sometimes I will feel it in my heel. It is not debilitating or anything, I am just worried about doing too much too soon coming back from injury.
Is this pain on the sides of the tendon what achilles tendonitis feels like? Could it be something else? I have never had an achilles injury and just always assumed it would be the tendon itself, right in the middle that got tight or felt weird. My pain is definitely on each side, is that normal? Thanks in advance.
I am trying to remember this from my college years, but if memory serves it feels like there is gravel or some type of crunching going on in your achilles.
That’s definitely not what I have. Like I said, a tightness on either side of the tendon that can almost feel like a burning sensation at times. Also, occasional pain in that heel.
For me, it felt like it was tight and sore to the touch. My PT would almost have me in tears once she started working on it because it was so tender and inflammed. Stretch out your soleus and gastroc and get some PT/massage work done on the area.
Stop running right now and get a professional opinion. A bad achilles injury will put you out of commision for several months. When I had achilles tendonitis bad it felt like a grinding in my achilles because the tendon would rub the inside of the peritenon since it had scar tissue built up on it. It would also hurt when going down stairs because i would be loading it with weight.
I had achilles tendonitis earlier this year. It started off with symptoms like you describe, mainly a feeling of tightness after training. Unfortunately I wasn’t smart enought to recognise the symptoms and soon enough I was in some pretty serious pain even when walking up and down stairs. After a few days of this I developed the crunching and creaking sensation that EDS mentioned. KP has written a pretty good article and there are some good exercises on there as well that really helped me
If it is worse on the bike than the run then it may be worth checking that your cleats aren’t worn out so your foot is rocking. Apparantly this is quite a common cause of achilles tendonitis.
I just had the same problem. I had a pain in my right leg just below the calf. It was sore to the touch and hurt. I posted my problem, I explained that I just purchased new running shoes and I thouht that may have been the problem. Someone responded and also mentioned that they had it and found out what caused it for them was the cleat placement on there new bike shoes. After reading that, it clicked, I also just got a new pair of Tri-Vent bike shoes. I moved the cleat and guess what? The pain is now gone.
Was your cleat too far forward or too far back? I think mine were too far forward, just slid them back and felt better than usual, not sure if it was a coincidence or not?
Is it common to feel the pain and tightness alongside the tendon? I don’t know, I just always assumed the achilles was this big fat tendon so when you hurt it it would be there where you felt it. Mine is definitely along the sides of the tendon. Just wondering if that is normal, like I said, never had an achilles issue before so don’t really know what to expect “normal” feels like for achilles tendonitis.
Yes, these are symptoms of AT. Burning, pain around or on the sides of the tendon. Anywhere from the heel up to about mid calf where the insertion point is. I found that a combination of ice and heat have helped me through years and years of AT issues. It never stopped me from running…just had to make sure I wasn’t doing too much speed and hills.
Ice works great RIGHT after a workout…use the paper cup method (freeze water in the cup, pop out the block of ice and rub it DIRECTLY on the affected area for 7 mins)…ice is also great right before bedtime.
Heat works best before a workout…throw a wet towel in the microwave, get it hot and apply it to your AT/Calf for a few minutes…repeat 2-3 more times. Then head out on a run.
I’ve been to dozens of PTs, docs and therapists and found this combination of ice/heat works best for me. Someone will certainly chime in here and say, “he’s not solving the REAL problem which is strength training for the calves/AT”…yeah, I gave that program a solid chance several times doing eccentric loading and all kinds of time wasting sh%t and it never worked.
You are feeling the distal musclular insertion of the soleus at the achilles. “True” achilles tendonitis/osis does hurt if you push directly on the tendon and you often (but not always) feel the crepitus (the gravel like feeling/sound) with motion as the achilles tendon fibers become fibrosed in/with the paratenon (a thin covering of the tendon). The tight soleus muscle is definitely a warning sign and precursor to frank achilles tendinosis/itis.
Yes, move your cleat back if you have not done so. Lower you seat about 3mm as well. Be faithful with your posterior muscle group stretches (best done with a bent knee to knock out a likely tight gastrocnemius (calf) muscle and isolate the soleus better) and ice the area after biking, running. Warm up well (or use heat) then stretch during exercise as well.
Yes, this is a “better” injury to have (if there is such a thing) as the muscle will heal way faster. A bad case of achilles tendonitis/osis can really F-up your season and is tough to beat, even with good professional help. Use this warning sign to your advantage - any change or pain directly on the achilles or failure to respond within 10 days or so, seek some eyes/hands on help rather than over the internet for sure.
Ibuprofen will definitely make it feel better if you decide to train through this (which you may be able to do if you just can’t take some time off), but don’t let it cover some pain to train harder (obviously)
Well I have plenty of time and patience. Actually just on the mend from other posterior leg injury so I have no concerns about races coming up anytime soon. I really just went to be healthy going into the Fall/Winter so I can start building a solid base for next year.
As I said, never had an achilles injury before, maybe the result of coming back to cycling and running after almost 3 months off? Being that I can afford to be patient, what would be a good conservative course of action? Avoid running for a week or two? Avoid the bike as well? Any strengthening exercises for the calves once it feels better? Calf raises? Seated vs. standing, etc.?
Like Strongontherun, I’m not a big fan of the eccentric calf strengthening excercises for this and I’ve not seen much results with them - but others have (and reputable ones at that). Really, just rest will help a lot for the muscle. I also really like the night splint to keep the ankle dorsiflexed while you sleep - you can often find these things at local running stores and certainly online. PM and I’ll even send you one (at my cost)
Last tri in 83: you have a good memory! Well, just finished running 10.2 miles after surgery this am at a good clip (7:30 pace) and it felt easy (look out Erik Clark). I’ll bike hard tonight about 34 miles with the weekly Wed night roadie hammerfest (basically staring at a guys ass, rotating in a paceline every few mins, get my nose in the wind for my turn, then repeat
It doesn’t hurt anymore running, but I still get just a twinge in the hills and after my long runs (2:30 +). Of course, I’m too stubborn to really rest the thing (actually, my pain is almost identical to the OP as well - soleus strain mostly). I’m doing an OLY this weekend (with Joe Bonness!) and that should be a good test as I’m going to hit this one hard. If it feels good, I’ll turn loose the rest of my running for the Columbus marathon smackdown vs. Erik Clark I’m sure after that, I will rest the poor thing.
