Comments on: Coaches Panel: How to overcome Achilles tendon problems

By: PT Health Guy

PT Health Guy — Wed, 26 May 2010 12:48:18 +0000

An orthopedic doctor would be the better person to give you advise since he can examine your heel/foot, make the diagnosis, and prescribe the treatment needed.

By: jsalcone

jsalcone — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:32:40 +0000

I developed the same kind of Achilles tendonitis two years ago. My PT advised Superfeet, moving cleats back, frequent calf stretching, and some calf extensions (stand on stairs, push up with both legs, slowly come down with one leg, end heel below ball, repeat). Worked magic. It was gone in 4 weeks and I was back to full riding volume and intensity in 8.

By: Gary, Ohio

Gary, Ohio — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:42:38 +0000

Rub your tendons side-ways never long ways, that will close up the fibers. Sometimes rubbing or rolling your tendon sideways will have an instant effect, at least it does for me.GL.

By: Aldo Sfalcin

Aldo Sfalcin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:24:37 +0000

"Out of the Canadian Coaching Manual" and from real experience.
When an athlete is injured especially the Achilles tendon they must refrain from training or any exercise that effects the injury until the injury is 100% healed. Yeah 100%. Or it may become chronic.

For the Achilles injury I'd recomment a lowering of the seat by a real expert who would know if you're too high (usual reason for the injury) . Do the cleat adjustment as recommended on this blog and start riding your bike with very light gears 42 x 18 only after the injury is fully healed.

Increase the gears and distance slowly for as long as it takes to get back to normal and without ANY pain as your Achilles is retraining (base miles).

In my 50 years experience as a rider and coach I can tell you that whole seasons were lost because racers would not TOTALY stop riding.

I never saw an Achilles injury heal while still keeping actively cycling. I would like to know if anyone has.

Waldo Jones (pen name) Level III Carded Coach)

By: dougstyle

dougstyle — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:23:42 +0000

well, there goes my wearing of Crocs...

I appreciate the answer. So you think that wearing a product like Crocs contribute the problem since they offer decent arch but little stability ?

cheers,

Douglas Redman

512-269-6602 mobile
866-599-9573 Toll Free 24 Hour Line
wexfin@yahoo.com

By: Tendon Rupture Fail

Tendon Rupture Fail — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:21:53 +0000

Douglas, pardon my delayed response. In your case IMO you should wear the inserts all the time, if they're the type that you can put into your walking shoes and cycling shoes. Wearing them everyday will slow down the erosion if you've got bad arches and for cycling you must wear them each training ride and race, or you'd risk re-injury. That's how I re-injured my achilles, by boxing without the inserts. Didn't wear them for cycling because I'd moved on to just track running and boxing. The injury was too painful and repetitive to give cycling another try. Since getting the custom made orthotics I wear them all the time, while walking and training.

By: jasoninbozone

jasoninbozone — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:18:11 +0000

Hi all and thanks to Coach Paul. I have suffered with Achilles problems since riding half way up Haleakala. It has never fully healed. (har). But, maintenance is the key. A number one, according to my doc, DO NOT get any sort of steroid/cortisone shot. And B, I agree with Randy, the problem may not be your Achilles, it is more likely your calf, or, in my case, the popliteus and hamstring. These are tight on me all the time which puts a continuous but weak strain on the Achilles. My muscles respond very well to focused deep tissue massage. I recommend this with the commensurate gentle stretching. Finally, think of this as a way to work on your climbing IN the saddle. Climbing out of the saddle focuses all of that energy onto the Achilles. My climbing improved due to the injury. Once you are pain free then slowly bring out-of-saddle climbing back into your training.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:11:00 +0000

I appreciate the input. To clarify-are you saying that it is necessary to use them all the time or just when cycling due to the repetitive motion ?

Please advsie.

thank you,

Douglas Redman

512-269-6602 mobile
866-599-9573 Toll Free 24 Hour Line
wexfin@yahoo.com

By: Al

Al — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 03:17:07 +0000

I've had a similar issue twice over the last few years. I've riding the same bike with the same equipment and setup, so unlikely a issue with that. My physio indicated is was largely due to tightness in the calf muscles. that tightness causes the tendon to be stressed at all times. combine that with riding and you get micro tears that gradually get worse. 2 weeks of light riding, some physio (heat, tens, etc) and a lot of stretching rectified the problem.

By: Tendon Rupture Fail

Tendon Rupture Fail — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:27:27 +0000

Good to hear that workedd Doug. Whether they're custom made orthodic inserts or a commercially available one remember once you move to wearing inserts and find it works you must use them all the time. Every single ride, not just occasionally when you feel pain.

As mentioned earlier my achilles tendon ruptured just like JTW, whose question started this thread. For several years I could race with no pain as long as the orthotics were in. The same applied to boxing, a sport I took up after cycling. But one day I was late for practice and did 6 rounds of sparring without the orthotics. Damage was instant and pain constant thereafter. My physical therapist got me through the season by putting me on pain killers and walking on a cane when outside the ring, which saved wear and tear enough to fight three more months.

Likewise in cycling you don't want to skip the inserts even once because injury could happen your first time without them.

By: dougstyle

dougstyle — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 03:52:39 +0000

I had the exact same problem and nothing worked. I saw the two postings about using the Specialzied BG shoes and inserts and thought that it could not hurt to try. Saturday I took the Superfeet (Green) shoe liners out of my hiking boots and put them in my road shoes.
Just like that the problem is fixed. This has been killing me since November and no one could give me the answer.

Thanks for the input guys ! Rode Saturday and today with no pain.

NOTE: remember to raise your seat to compensate for the height of the inserts.

By: bradfoster

bradfoster — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 07:23:34 +0000

Considering the achilles is the terminal end of the gastroc and soleus. Those two muscles need to be stretched, released, and able to contract/relax. Right now, you're probably would too tightly in a 'guarded' muscle tone around the clock. I'm the team chiro for both a euro and domestic based team. I use Active Release Techniques (ART) and would strongly recommend finding somebody in your area that is certified. www.activerelease.com
As for treatments, 2-5 visits should have it taken care of. This should be easy to put behind you. I would also recommend decreasing the lever angle by sliding your cleats back towards your heel.

By: Tendon Rupture Fail

Tendon Rupture Fail — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 19:09:54 +0000

JT sorry to hear you ruptured the tendon. I had the same symptoms and eventual injury as you — it ended my cycling career. The author's feedback didn't consider you might have bad arches that require custom made orthodics. This was my problem and after the tendon rupture I got orthodics and was able to make all-league in HS track and cross country. You can adjust the cleats and do that other stuff to no end but sometimes there is no other solution but orthodics, as my physical therapist at the time said. Advice was a fail.

By: anonymus msk dr

anonymus msk dr — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:51:21 +0000

An additional thought would be to Google treatment of Achilles tendonitis. And start some eccentric calf raise on the step every night.

By: Humanperform

Humanperform — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:20:00 +0000

Here is a link for a simple, effective and time efficient flexibility routine for cyclists. http://www.humanperformancecenter.com/
Achilles tendonitis, tendinosis, tears and ruptures are all a result of an overloading of a common muscular pattern. If you want to rid yourself from achilles pain, you have to treat the injury but also address the kinetic patterns in the hips and legs through stretching and soft tissue mobilizations. Stretching an acute injury rarely is beneficial, but once it's in check, having a whole body stretching routine will keep a variety of injuries at bay. Flexibility for Cyclists Manual.

By: OB905

OB905 — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:23:35 +0000

One thing that you might try is something called a Strassburg Sock. You wear this at night and it gently stretches your Achilles Tendon while you sleep. I am an avid runner and occasional biker and went through an episode with Achilles problems about 7 years ago. I tried stretching, icing, and all sorts of strengthening exercises for about a year and had pretty much given up on being able to run competitively again. I tried the Strassburg sock and I was cured in 1 week, best $35 I ever spent. Since then I have loaned the sock to 2 other friends and they had the same results. Good luck to you

By: Richard McClung

Richard McClung — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:38:36 +0000

In addition to everything mentioned...

Once, on the path to recovery, I found stretching and ankle rotations to be crucial in terms of preventitive maintenance.

Another trick, once you begin riding again, is take some cloth tape and run a strip from under your heel, stright back to the top of the tendon where it connects to the calf muscle. Then place two or three pieces of tape across the long strip. What this does is make it impossible for you to drop your heel and stress the tendon. Be careful though, because this places more stress on your knee...you have to ride very lightly, and build back very slowly.

I also was amazed how much walking with correct posture helped.

By: Dylan

Dylan — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 01:23:51 +0000

Take it easy off the bike as well, even if you feel fine in normal activity. I ruptured my achilles playing squash, but I think it was precipitated by hill training on the bike without sufficient stretching - I was getting very tight calf muscles riding in the weeks before my injury.
Check out achillesblog.com for lots of blogs on achilles injuries and some good post-injury physical therapy plans.
You really don't want to get to the stage where it ruptures, especially if you don't have health insurance. From what I've seen about treatment costs in the USA, you could fly to Australia, have the procedure done in a top private hospital, have a three week holiday, and still come out ahead financially.

By: jtwcook

jtwcook — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 23:40:20 +0000

Thank you all for the advice. Shortly after I sent the e-mail to VN I actually ruptured the achilles. After much time off recovering, I am now able to ride a little here and there. There are some compensation pains that are surfacing in several areas but I am luckily getting a 3-D fitting next week to help. Once again thank you for sharing your experience and advice. JC

By: DEAN

DEAN — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 07:01:30 +0000

I had the Achilles problem too and found that most stretching makes it worse. The exception is this: Instead of putting your bad foot at 6 o'clock on the pedal stroke (as if you were stretching on a stair step), place the bad foot at 12 o'clock. Then gently, using your arm and upper body weight, apply downward pressure to the top of your thigh, just above the knee. It's easiest to do this stretch on the trainer, but you can also do it while you're out riding, whenever you start to feel a bit sore. Everyone is different, but this pretty much solved my problem. I did a double century with no pain a few months later. Call it the 12 o'clock stretch.

I would also caution anyone against icing for too long. I once iced my Achilles for 20 minutes and when I unwrapped it, it looked like a frozen chicken breast. I then had to defrost it in the warm bath. I later found that 8 to 10 minutes worked best. Tendons have less circulation than regular muscle and freeze much faster.

Good luck.