Have you done much eccentric work?
I would also find out if it isn’t Achilles bursitis which is common in the insertion area of the calcaneus. That is certainly a nagging problem that doesn’t go away easily. If it is truly insertional Achilles tendonosis, then I would explore the option of shock wave therapy (I believe the Sonocur device is available in the Calgary area). It requires three treatments, but causes something chronic to become acute and heal more effectively.
The podiatrist told me it wasn’t bursitis I supposed judging from the xray he took?
I thought that was the case as well. I will look at shockwave therapy.
Cool just keep us updated quickazhell.
any updates on this?
Has anyone tried EMS or TENS ?
i has achillies tendo last year really struggled for 3 months of the summer, only managed to train/race at the end of aug, tbf my injury meant i intially struggled even walking.
i tried the usual excentric stuff 3 times a day and this aided in pain relief reasonable well. However, the treatment i also used was TENS throughout the day at work and this imo worked very well, but it wasnt until i got hold of a mcdavid strap that it really started to get better, i tried the strap for only a week and all pain seamed to dissapear.
def worth a few quid to acquire one of those straps trust me
is this what you’re talking about? http://www.amazon.com/McDavid-Achilles-Tendon-Support-X-Large/dp/B002DPBGWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1264349617&sr=1-1
yeah thats the one it has 2half cylinder rubber bits on the back next to the achillies (similer to 2 fingers) helps release the pressure but also strtch the tissue similer to excentric excerise.
incidently this also worked for another athlete of mine who has suffered with both achillies since 2005 (we got a new mondo track) he now back up and running.
these just seemed to work really well for us
Wow. This thread is back…
Update for all whom are concerned. Since I last posted on this thread… 2009 indoor season went great running numerous pr’s over 200 and 400 meters finishing with 22.36 and 49.93.
Outdoors not so good which may be due to the fact that once again my training was affected by the pain caused by this reoccurring achilles problem. Fast forward to this indoor pre-season…
After taking off from June until October the Achilles issue seemed to go away at least it seemed. To be safe I decided to make some changes to my workouts this season. This season I was on the track 3 days per week instead of 4-5 days last year. I implemented d longer speed endurance type lactate work as I found successful last year and 2 days sled dragging (walking forward and backwards) which I though could take place of tempo work. I thought the sled work could take place of tempo work due to the fact that A.) It has a strength endurance component for the legs, B.) Cardiovascular benefit C.) Time under tension was close to that of the race itself, and to make things better it would be much lower impact than running. While my Achilles seemed to be fine after a 5 month layoff, 8 weeks into training and putting on spikes seemed to make the problem come right back again. Achilles hurt whenever I put the spikes on even to do warm-up strides and since I was unable to do the speed work necessary to improve and I was stuck doing the longer slower lactate work. I opened up in pedestrian times as did my training partner due perhaps to the “lack of training.” After 4 weeks of making changes he is just now getting back to the times he should have opened up with weeks ago.
After speaking with a friend of mine who is well respected in the track and field community (USATF biomechanics) he had a few interesting things to say about lower leg issues in post-collegaite sprinters. He has noticed these types of issues in the population I mentioned which he thinks may be due to some type of bone shift that occurs over time in the foot which may be due to years and years of training. Because of the bone shift, foot strike may be altered which may cause torsion forces on Achilles (supination of foot?). Even if I treat/get rid of the issue which I actually have the past few years (in the summer before track resumes in the fall) it would probably keep reoccurring unless I somehow fix my foot strike which I believe is near impossible at this point in time.
At this time I am not running and shifting my focus to powerlifting which i was ranked #80 in the USA in Bench Press in 2007. Although I plan to hop in a few 60 meter races this season to see if my lower body training for deadlift actually helps my acceleration my future in track and field has yet to be determined.
A-J thanks I see there are local suppliers so I will try that and see how it goes.
Quikaz, damn that isn’t good. I recall you were doing quite well at 400m so to be where you are is not good. Hope things work out whatever happens.
Sorry to read this, QUIKAZHELL! I hope you get over it or at least keep training at something you enjoy! 
I am also getting achilles issues now (due to more supination and inward rotation of the affected leg). I am almost positive it’s due to footstrike like you said. Historically I always had noticable bilateral external rotation of both legs. I am also pretty sure that hip/sacrum malalignment is a factor and my therapist could greatly improve the situation but it’s a matter of ‘do I want to pay $100 and drive 1hr each way’ when I am not competing much at all anymore? The main idea here is that 90% of therapists don’t seriously look at bony hip alignment with this injury when it is most certainly a factor in a good % of cases.
did you wear it all the time or just for training? 
It depended on when we felt the pain, so if the achillies could be felt during normal walking then would wear until it didn’t Same as jogging striding and then sprints, I personally was suprised with the relief and soon after therapy effect it gave. I only came accros it by using normal tape around my ankle noticed it relieved the pain a little so investigated and found this support
ok it all makes sense now…myself hallux limitus begins 6 years ago…subconsciously started walking different to preserve the natural dorsiflexion remaining in both great big toe joints(my old natural walking where i achieved full quadrupalextension would place stress on the big toe joints thus reducing the remaining dorsiflexion through the bone growth/spurs that occur)…same thing with jogging and sprinting…subconsciously preserving big toe remaining dorsiflexion by not achieving full quadrupalextension, thus i appear to sit when sprinting jogging or walking…this subconscious preservation of the big toe joint causes torque and all kinds of stress on the lower leg exremities …stress showed up first in the achilles…when the stress isnt there it sometimes goes to the soleus or ankles or even knees or lower back…hell even the upper hamstring lol for fuck saes haha
cushining shoes help heaps, not the supportive ones.
Also, ensure the calfs are not knotted up, relieve the pressure from them.
And most importantly, the tibilias anterior, it is typically pathetically weak and crazy tight. Its a much neglected yet vital lower leg muscle.
agree with u there i’ve gone through prob 30 pairs of nike runner pegasus the past 5 years, only sprint 2x sometimes 3x a week always on grass from april to november. For myself it’s crazy how much more volume can be done per session on grass in runners versus on rubber in runners without loading up the achilles(myself its nearly 2x the volume). As well how much longer i could run on grass without losing rhythymn vversus on rubber where the rhythymn wanes after about 160m(achilles gets pissed), grass could keep it going with a good rhythymn and feelng nothing in the achiles for 300m
yeah, i think my joggers only really last 3mnths’ish.
I have saucony pro grid trimph 7. Best shoes i have personally ever tried.
I can last 5km ok in flats before things get sore, or about 2km of tempo. Just not worth the pain.
Shorter bouts of faster work in less shoes or spikes is ok. Its a pain, but when in spikes, in the rest periods, change back into joggers, avoid walks n jogs unless in joggers. Well worth the extra effort.
Deff get them thumbs into that tibilas anterior, or better yet, get a Palm Jade stone, like on the fundamentals dvd. Absolutely Magic
I’ve started to get achilles soreness since getting into spikes after coming out of plaster a few months ago. It isn’t too bad, it comes on after sprinting and jumping on mondo.
I’m currently doing 3x20 eccentrics x3 per day… adding 5k per week. There is a lot of literature showing fantastic results using eccentrics. I’ve dropped all sprinting for now.
A friend of mine had acupuncture on his… all pain had gone after 2 sessions and hasn’t returned.
If the pain hasn’t totally subsided by October (GPP) I’ll do this also.
i had a chronic achilles injury maybe 7years ago. i went to the best physio money could buy and we work relentlessly on eccentric heal drops twice a day everyday for months followed by icing. during treatment he would heat the achilles up with aid of a machine to loosen it more then he would do some cross friction on it…very very sore! calfs suppleness was always addressed.
now i have long retired from track but play alot of golf. i bought adidas golf shoes last week and they flaired up my achilles after a few holes of play…i recently put my orthodics into them and hey pain gone