# Question about achilles tendon injury.



## dkbikes4life (Nov 20, 2010)

I ran a marathon 2 weeks ago. About half way through I started getting a sharp discomfort in my right achilles tendon. It wasn't hurting bad (I've pulled my left one bad so I know what that feels like), but there was definite discomfort. Over the last 2 weeks the discomfort has come and gone. Yesterday I did a 60 mile ride on the road bike. For me it was at a fast pace. Today I noticed I have a weird feeling in my left achilles. It doesn't hurt at all, but there is a weird vibration while moving my foot up and down. It is definitely in the achilles and not the ankle joint. Anyone ever felt this? I'm basicaly just wondering how serious it is and how long do I need to take it easy. I plan on staying off the bike and no running for another week or so at least and just stick to swimming.


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## obie.miller (Mar 11, 2008)

Probably just Achilles tendinitis.

Achilles Tendon Pain From Cycling | LIVESTRONG.COM


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## heartland (Oct 1, 2009)

Funny - I checked into this forum for the first time for information about this exact same problem. I've got that "friction" feeling in my tendon as well. (Though I've described it to myself as a "creaking" feeling.) Sounds pretty similar, anyway.

Mine started after my first bike tour a couple weeks ago. It has improved somewhat with ibuprofen, rest, icing, and an ankle brace, but it isn't totally better. I'm trying to get in to see a doctor now, so I'll report back.

What I've gathered so far is that the "creaking" or friction comes from an inflammation of the sheath that covers the tendon itself. Calf stretches are supposed to help as well, but I haven't been doing them long enough to say for sure.


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## SteveF (Mar 5, 2004)

I had a severe bout with Achilles Tendonitis a few years ago--when to physical therapy, rest, ice stretch, anti-inflammatories, all that. It still bothered me though. My sig.oth. who has a gift for googlin' and a medical background found some references to bike-related Achilles tendon issues that she shared with me. They recommended that you NOT stretch it. I quit stretching and it healed up pretty quick. It seems that when you have Achilles tendon issues related to cycling it's due to over-extension so stretching irritates it further rather than helping. So, rest, ice, DON'T stretch, and maybe tweak your saddle height and/or setback.


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## heartland (Oct 1, 2009)

Just got back from my first PT session. It looks like I'm going to need at least a couple weeks of PT to get better. My therapist is doing the Graston technique on my ankle and calf, which hurts quite a bit but sounds like it'll help. She has also given me some ankle and calf exercises to build up the muscles that support the achilles.


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## Noclutch (Jun 20, 2010)

dkbikes4life and heartland- where are you guys with your achilles tendonitis/tendonosis/tenosynovitis? Still creaking? PT helping? Still off the bike all together?

The reason I ask is I, too, have similar symptoms. Mine started fairly early on a cool night ride, wearing leggings for the first time this year that were fitting very snugly around my ankle and suspect may have contributed to what I'm presuming is a tenosynovitis back there. At first I though it was an insect sting as it dulled over the hour long ride, but after another ride a few days later it was much more inflamed. Took a few days off and NSAIDS, and it felt good, rode easy a week later and it came back within a few miles.:madman: Now I've googled it ad nauseam and scared the poop out of myself! :eekster: Waiting to get to a PT, hopefully soon.


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## heartland (Oct 1, 2009)

Mine is (*knocks on wood*) slowly getting better. The PT is definitely helping. For that, I'm doing a series of ankle strengthening exercises with an elastic band. I'm still off the bike for now. I'm playing that cautious because I have a tendency to jump back into things too quickly, and I want to make sure I don't aggravate it more so I can get a full season of riding in this year.

Part of the frustration with this condition is knowing exactly what it is, which your pointing out by saying "tendonitis/tendonosis/tenosynovitis." It seems like every time I go Googleing for information I get something new and contradictory. Some sites say to ice all the time, stretch, and take ibuprofen. Then others say not to do any of that, and it's hard to know what to believe.

For the last few days I've been heating my ankle instead of icing it, and while I can only speak for myself on this, I've noticed some improvement. For heating it, I filled an old sock with rice, which I pop in the microwave for a couple minutes. I can drape the sock all the way around my ankle, and I've been trying to heat it a couple times a day.

If your ankle is still visibly inflamed, then I guess you'd want to keep icing and taking anti-inflammatories. (_With the obvious, I hope, caveat that I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV._) My ankle is no longer visibly inflamed, but it's still creaky, which is why I've switched to heating rather than just icing. If PT is an option for you, I'd definitely get that started as soon as you can. Good luck!


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## heartland (Oct 1, 2009)

Just found these threads:

http://forums.mtbr.com/passion/achilles-tendon-help-449164.html

http://forums.mtbr.com/rider-down-injuries-recovery/achilles-tendon-strain-708073.html

To add to the confusion, they don't seem to be exactly what I've got going on, though two doctors told me it was achilles tendonitis. Hrrrmm...


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## Noclutch (Jun 20, 2010)

Thanks heartland. Yea I've been surfing furiously, which can be a double edged sword paranoia wise...

As I type this I have a heating pad on mine. But several times a day, particularly after doing "something" that has irritated it I ice pack it also, but that something is not cycling for now. Mine is not squeaking for only 2 days now, but still a little sore right over where I _presume_ the sheath ends over the tendon, and where there is a hint of swelling, and where there was maximal crepitus before. That tells me it has not healed- mother nature put the pain response there for a reason.... And yes, there is a bit of diagnosis semantics out there that drives me crazy, too.

I found a bunch of "stuff" on this site as well as with a search on here
FWIW, I do have very good palpation skills and a body of medical/surgical knowledge, but my daily patients are much hairier than _most _of us riding MTB's 

Good luck with yours, too!


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## dkbikes4life (Nov 20, 2010)

Wow. Didnt know I had any responses to this thread. Guess I should have checked a while ago. 

Anyways, mine is definitely getting better. After doing a lot of googling, I read about ecentric excersises a lot and decided to try them. It seems that they work good. I did that along with no biking or running for 2 weeks and it seems to be good. I was still getting a little bit of sorness on long rides (50+ miles) on the road bike. I moved my cleats all the way back to take as much stress off the achilles as possible and it seems to have worked. I even ran 2.6 miles a few days ago. I know it isn't very far, but 1 month ago I couldnt jog 3 steps without pain. 

Another thing I have been doing is massages. I believe that massages are an essential part of recovery for any muscle injury. 

As of now I am fully training for a triathlon right now. I'm going to ease into it though. I made the mistake of signing up for a 70.3 tri just before I did the ride in my OP. Its in April, so I'm hoping I can actually do it. If not, its a bunch of money down the drain for registration.


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## Noclutch (Jun 20, 2010)

Thanks for the update dk.
Yea after my searching I too moved my cleats back for going forward. 
On a side note and possibly realted to my injury, I found that between saddle swapping back and forth I forgot to change my seat height back to where it should be, and was actually running it about 1/4-1/3" higher when it happened. Maybe just coincidence, but too high a saddle seems to be mentioned quite often in realtion to achilles problems. So I fixed that too, as the bike sits there collecting dust


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## heartland (Oct 1, 2009)

I suspect that saddle height and position might have played a role in my injury too. I changed saddles right before my trip, and while I adjusted it a bit before leaving, I didn't get to do any shorter rides to fine tune its placement. 

Another change I made post-injury was my shoes. I realized that most of my work shoes had pretty thin soles, so I bought some with more cush and ankle support, and I think that's helped keep the tendon happier.


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## heartland (Oct 1, 2009)

*quick update*

How are you all doing with your Achilles injuries?

Mine is still s l o w l y getting better. The tendon itself doesn't hurt much, and the crepitus seems to have disappeared.

Now, though, I'm feeling some pain in my heel bone area, especially on the bottom. Not sure what's causing this, and I don't see my physical therapist for while. It's not especially painful, but definitely noticeable, and it makes me nervous to get back on the bike. Any of you experience moving pain like this?


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## dkbikes4life (Nov 20, 2010)

heartland said:


> How are you all doing with your Achilles injuries?
> 
> Mine is still s l o w l y getting better. The tendon itself doesn't hurt much, and the crepitus seems to have disappeared.
> 
> Now, though, I'm feeling some pain in my heel bone area, especially on the bottom. Not sure what's causing this, and I don't see my physical therapist for while. It's not especially painful, but definitely noticeable, and it makes me nervous to get back on the bike. Any of you experience moving pain like this?


As far as I am concerned, I am fully healed. I went out and did a 10 mile run last night and felt great. Still do.

From my expeirence, you are in the last stage of healing. I too had pain in my heal. From what I've read, the area where the achilles attaches to the heel bone recieves the least amount of blood and is the slowest healing area. You'll probably feel good in a few weeks. I really think the ecentric workouts are what helped me the most.

I do still have my cleats the farthest back they will go though. My 70.3 tri is in April and I dont want to start changing things now. I'd rather just leave everything alone and after the tri I'll start expierementing.


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## heartland (Oct 1, 2009)

Glad to hear your back to running!

I'm also glad to hear that you went through something similar as far as the heal pain goes and that it might be a sign I'm towards the end of this process. I really hope my pain disappears soon - I've got a trip to Moab planned for mid March. 

Good luck with your tri!


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## raringsunny (Apr 19, 2014)

I just read the following thread and I feel that I am going through a similar experience. I don't do 

biking. However, I also had a pain in my Achilles Tendon area which lasted for 2-3 days. I discontinued 

all the physical activities from last 3 days or so. The pain has completely gone and no visible 

swelling is there. In fact, I never had any swelling in the first place. I felt pain while stepping up stairs and at times even while walking in my achilles tendon.

I was not very active physically and recently decided to do some physical activities. From last 3-4 weeks, I have been going to the gym and also running/jogging/walking. One day I walked 

(brisk) or ran a little bit for about 3 miles. A day or two before that I had also done some leg 

workout in the gym. So my quads/hamstrings and calves were pretty sore already. A day after that I walked a lot about over 21000 steps per my pedometer.

Now, the pain in my Achilles tendon has completely gone. However, I feel a sensation (sort of vibration or a feeling of friction) in the Achilles tendon area. It's happening since yesterday. It doesn't happen all the time but I think when I walk a little bit and after that when I move my feet while sitting on a chair in an up-down direction then I get a friction/vibration sensation. Also, I am having a slight pain in my calf muscles when I walk.

Although it seems to me that the condition has definitely gotten better but the sensation of vibration/friction was causing me a bit concern.

I have already seen my primary care physician. He said he is not too much concerned about it and asked me to wait for a few days and it should get better.

After reading through this post, I would like to know how are you guys doing. Specifically, dkbikes4life and heartland, would you please share your experience and have you completed healed?

Also, I feel slight pain in my heels which wasn't that noticeable earlier. I feel the pain in heels only when I am standing for a little while.

How long did it take you to feel completely better?

Would appreciate your inputs and experience.


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