Achilles Tendonitis

Uhoh! Your achilles is starting to hurt when you run. This is a common issue that people will encounter at some point in their running career. Panic may start setting in and you think you have to start taking some time off. We both know that you don’t want to do that so let’s see if we can have a positive experience and make some active changes instead to alleviate pain. 

Achilles tendonitis is a common injury found in runners both new and old in the sports medicine world. An acute case can arise due to inflammation in the tendon from ramping up activity too fast or when starting a new exercise such as running.

A chronic issue is usually more of a tendonosis which is atrophy of the tendon. If the muscles that blend into the achilles are weak then you will be overusing other muscles to make up for it and the achilles will atrophy due to disuse. Either way we need to work to calm down the tendon, decrease your pain and then remodel the tendon to create noticeable progress. This can begin with avoidance of aggravating activities and then strengthening the tendon. 

Classically people will feel this pain at either the heel or in the middle of the tendon. They feel it the most when running or any activity that loads the tendon but it usually warms up and gets better with more activity. There may be some lingering soreness

after activity but generally does not last through the next day. 

Isometrics and then eccentrics are typically used to jump start the remodeling process then eventually working up to full range of motion exercises and plyometrics before getting back to a full running program. The faster the movement the more load on the tendon so we slowly ramp up. As the remodeling process is going on we will also analyze the gait to figure out why the tendon was having issues in the first place. Simultaneously remodeling the tendon while addressing the root cause is a patient focused way to set you up for a great experience!

Achilles Tendonitis exercises