Anybody have any good ideas on treatment for Achilles Tendonitis? I’ve been suffering from this for the past few weeks and am afraid it’s starting to get chronic. I don’t want to end up with a tendinosis problem where my tendon starts to slowly degenerate, etc…
I’ve done all the usual stuff: ice, massage (not enough though), lite stretching, a heel lift in my shoe (not duging training though), more wearing of training flats versus spikes,etc…
Has anyone had any experience with the eccentrics protocol that you see in the sports medicine literature? I’m thinking of trying this but wanted to see if any other sprinters on the forum have had any succes with it. Thanks.
Q: I have achilles tendinopathy issues in both my tendons, how do you usually deal with these? I also have tendinopathy in my right knee. I play basketball right now, but will play football come summer.
A: First determine if it’s tendonitis or tendonisis. If swelling is present and it’s a relatively recent injury it’s tendonitis. If it’s chronic without swelling that’s tendonisis. Most injuries like yours are actually tendonisis. With tendonitis the standard rest, ice, anti-inflammatories, etc. will work. With tendonisis issues the most important thing is you gotta rest and lay off the tendon. The only exercise you’d want to perform for the affected area (other than low intensity aerobic exercise) are negative contractions such as slow negative kneeling squats. 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps every other day.
If you do all that and the tendonisis still persists it’s a good idea to eliminate anything else that might be causing the inflammation. Believe it or not a lot of times that can be due to food intolerances like wheat and dairy products. If all else fails you can try prolotherapy which has often proven fruitful treating chronic tendonisis. What Is Prolotherapy.
Before you go any further, check the calves. It is most likely the problem started there and won’t clear till the calves are loose, even if the achilles area requires treatment as well.
When you say check the calves do you mean via palpation/massage or a static length test (or both)? Is there a certain standard for ROM and texture that must be present to prevent these achilles problems? I don’ t think I’ve ever felt a sprinter’s calves that felt really loose per se (I’m also a massage therapist).
What’s the secret then? Lots of massage, agressive stretching, eccentrics…?