Achiles tendon trouble

[wez]

I recently had a minor disaster at BAL4 (i'm not refering to my result) I had to stop due to severe pain between the calf and ankle of my blocking leg. It occured in round 2 and although i had a couple of further attempts to throw i was unable to produce a block atall or even put weight on my leg after the throw.

The team physio told me i have tendonitis of the achiles, according to the virtual injury clinc it is Chronic and it also seems that i have a partial rupture.

I have been given some advice from a couple of sources on how to get it back in shape and i wanted to hear if anyone els has suffered from this and how they got it sorted.

It is now almost 2 weeks since it happened and the pain and general sweeling is mostly subsided after cold treatment and massage. I do now clearly have a nodule on the tendon a few cms above the heal and perhaps 5 cm further towrds my calf the tendon is sore to the touch and has a bigger lump. I am guessing this second one is a small rupture.

I had increased the frequency of sprinting, jogging and bounding last month and was experinecing some soreness- but i foolishly ignored this as the rest of my body was also feeling stiff from training.

Any input?

[sam]

Yes i had exactly the same the way it was treated for me was lots of physio to losen my calfs and lots of stretching.

also i had sorbathane heel inserts to take the pressure off my calfs while walking around and planting

[wez]

cheers Sam- thats pretty much what i am doing right now, i'm just afraid that i will lose my condition while i'm resting so i have started to cycle about 20km per day. Do you think that will cause any agravation?

I can't wear a heel insert as i already have a dodgy back and that would upset it but i do have a neoprene ankle support- could that help?

Also i am wondering if there is any specific exercise that can be done to rehabilitate it- Lasher said calf raises might help but when should i start?

[Jaffa]

I had the same sort of problem which I got from playing rugby. My physio had me doing the same stuff as Sam, (lots of stretching to loosen my calves and hamstrings) he said that compressing and and applying ice to the area was pointless after about 3 days or longer after the initial injury, but it is important to try to stimulate bloodflow to the area as the achilies tendow has a relatively low blood supply which means it takes longer to heal.

When my injury started to get better I had to do eccentric exercises to strengthen and help rehabillitate the tendon. The main focus on these exercises is to perform the eccentric (lowering) part of the execise very slowly. I had to do a sort of calf raise using a step or stair and go up onto my toes with both feet, then take one foot away and very slowly lower down all the way until my heel was down as far as it could go below the step level. I usually had to do 4 lowerings on each foot, i would then have to do the exact same thing but this time with my knee partially bent, the trick with this execise was to perform it exactly the same as previously but with the knee bent to about 160 degrees and to keep the knee bent at this angle all the way down. I had to perform these every dayfor about 3 weeks. This did help alot for me, and I only had a slight re-occurance of the injury later on but soon went away and i hav'nt had it since.

Alll the best with your recovery !!!

[Jaffa]

P.s. i recommend you doing the exercises on a step or at the bottom of the stairs to avoid on accidents, and to keep yourself in shape try some swimming, i done loads of it when i was out to keep me in shape, it helps with recovery also.

[wez]

Ok that sounds good- a couple of people have talked about that eccentric exercise so it must work. I've been cycling to keeop fit in the meanwhile and my achiles is improving. Its now been 2 weeks since it happened, but how long before i should start the exercises?

[Jaffa]

It depends on the severity of your injury. If you can still feel the little nodule in your tendon then i would'nt start until that has completely gone to avoid making it worse, but if you are not experiencing anymore pain and the nodule has gone then thats when you should start in my opinion.

[wez]

Hi guys, i've followed all the instructions you've given me and the achiles is feeling alot stronger now. Its been just under a month since i did it though. I did some long jump off a short runup yesturday and didn't feel any problems although later in the evening it was a little sore. This morning it good again. I want to do one more comp either this week or next- what do you think- should i brave it?

[lifebeginsat40]

wez said:

Hi guys, i've followed all the instructions you've given me and the achiles is feeling alot stronger now. Its been just under a month since i did it though. I did some long jump off a short runup yesturday and didn't feel any problems although later in the evening it was a little sore. This morning it good again. I want to do one more comp either this week or next- what do you think- should i brave it?

....and potentially ruin the start to your winter training!?

I would ask myself what I am getting from the last comp, what rides on it?

Wez, I wouldnt.

[wez]

Nothing is really riding on it, except my pride. I've only done 5 comps this year and was properly preparded for just the last one. The thing is i'm metres down on what i should have achieved this year and don't want to let the season go without producing something worthwhile.

+ i haven't thrown a jav for 1 month now and i'm absolutely itching to get one in my hand again.

[wez]

I had a chuck last night at some small comp and the Achiles complained so i had to call it a day. Harri Haatainen was there too, looks like he's going to be making a comeback next summer. He was looking powerful but the rythm and technique are rusty as hell. He lobbed one about 60m high- and it still landed out at 76m

[wez]

I need some advice quick, my stupid achilles tendon trouble seems to be creeping back. I did all the stretching and rehab advice from before and have continued that into the season but It got aggrevated again at BAL2. I tried to throw yesturday but had to stop after just a couple of throws. It happens when i put the plant foot down, i get a sudden sharp pain and collapse the block. I put ice on it but it is still tight and sore and will probably need 2 weeks full rest and rehab before i can don my boots again even for light throwing.

That brings me round to the crux of the matter this trouble started last season when i bought new spikes 'asics cyber javelin' original model. I am thinking that they might be the cause, its a very very stable shoe but the heel position is very restricted with a high back and there is practically no give in them and very little cushioning.

Has anyone els had similar issues and could you please recommend a more forgiving spike

I used to use the white asics boots which were really soft, like Basket ball shoes with spikes on basically but i was constantly spraining my ankle and literally tearing the inside of the shoe open when i blocked, that is why i went for a more stable spike.

if i can't get this sorted i'm afraid its gonna be the end of my career! HELP!

[dobster]

Wez - without going into depth on the potential injury (as it could be a multitude of things) - I would suggest you get it X-Ray or MRI'd - that way you will know the extent of the damage. If you are collapsing on the block then you may be in danger of rupturing the achilles - so be careful.

If it is not that and it is the boots - I had the same problem with the Asics Cyber range in that it was impinging on the achilles - I had to cut the back of the heel tab and it alleviated the problem to an extent - I also changed boots back to Addidas shortly after.

Just be careful with this one - a ruptured achilles means 9-12 months of rehab and possibly surgery!!

[wez]

cheers Tom,

I've just had a discussion with Sam about it too and he says exactly the same as you. I actually had a partial rupture last season x2 so i know how that feels and it took me up until march before i could really trust it again. Anyway i'm pretty sure that it is just strained at the moment so i'll ice it and do some light rehab work for a couple of weeks and hopefully be back at it by the end of the month. The good news is that it doesnt stop me from training except for throwing and perhaps high impact bounding.

Addidas boots ordered

cheers guys

[Patience]

I have continual problems with my achilles which gets really really bad in warm weather. The cause of mine turned out to be lack of salt in my diet. This caused mini cramps which in turn aggrevated my achilles. I have no idea why it was only my achilles and no other part of my body. I now drink a salt / sugar solution which keeps it at bay.