Achilles Tendinitis
Achilles tendinitis is one of the most common conditions seen in runners. The achilles tendon is the largest tendon in our body and connects the calf muscle to the foot. When the calf contracts it pulls on the achilles tendon and if you are standing it wil raise you up on your tip-toes. The calf and the achilles both work together to produce motion. They are separate parts of the same mechanism.
During the running motion the calf muscle has two jobs. It's main job is to propel your body forward during the "take-off" portion of the running motion. It's second and many times overlooked job is to act as a shock absorber when you land.
Why does this big strong muscle and incredibly thick tendon get injured. Several reasons. The main reason is usually poor form with delayed take-off. This is especially true when you run up hills. The workload on the achilles is much greater uphill than it is with downhill or running flats. Seemingly small mistakes of form done over higher and higher mileage (such as in marathon training) can irritate the tendon more and more till eventually there is inflammation and pain. The other reasons for this injury can be due to training mistakes. Doing too much mileage too soon can cause this injury as can quickly adding uphill running to a running program that has been done mainly on flat ground. A lack of flexibility in the calf muscle and achilles may also cause injury. This is overcome with regularly stretching before injuries occur. However, once the injury is already present overstretching can worsen or slow the healing process. Do not overstretch once injured, it will not help.
While prevention is obviously the best option, there are several measures that can be done once the injury is present.
1. Ice the area immediately after each run or workout
2. Temporarily avoid up hill runs
3. Cross train 1-2 days a week instead of doing your normal run
4. Add 1/4 inch spenco heel lift under your shoes insole to reduce pull on achilles
If these changes do not help that's where we come in. We will evaluate the injury, videotape your running checking for alignment and form issues and then treat the achillles through various modalities and strategies that should show results within the first 3-7 days. |
