Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General The Mountain by a fair means Ladies any Achilles Tendonitis problems?

I think I messed mine up!...have any of you ladies ever had this injury? And if so what did you do to heal it?

Any advise would be very much appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

Most of my issues seem to be with my knee. I know v. little about muscle and tendon injuries. I've been blessed with health and few injuries besides the knee thus far...Hopefully, you are consulting a qualified physical therapist, one who specializes in sports-related injuries.

Anita:

Define "messed up"? One of the easiest treatments I've done for this is using something called kinesiotape, placed on the heel and up to the calf for relief of the load on the Gastrocnemius/Soleus complex. But also, soft tissue work on the affected area can be effective in reducing the inflammation/stimulating the healing process. Gentle stretching when tolerated can also be of use here.

Rest is imperative to recovery here, first and foremost. As much as we like to get out and hit it, every step you make places a load and stretch on the Achilles tendon, which could continually irritate the tissues. And that's just on level ground.

Feel free to pm me with any questions.

-L

Blooty and Laura...Thanks so much for posting!

Laura thank you very much!..I will go ahead and write whats going on...I have had a problem with my AT on my right foot for many years...but it never got super bad like it is now...it seems over the past few years when I 1st wake up it is very stiff and when I 1st walk in the morning getting out of bed I can feel it..but after I have been up and moving it loosens up and is fine.

It's been about two summers now that I have not been hiking/backpacking like I use to do which was a lot.
This summer I have started to get back at it again...so hubby and myself have been trying to get ourselfs back in hiking shape. We started doing a two mile walk from our house..all flat but on a trail..had no issues or pain.
We left on July 14th and was away for almost a month..got back home on August 7th..started back up on the walks on August 9th..walked for 6 days in a row..no issues or pain. On August 15th I did a hike with a friend just about 7 miles RT with some good elevation gain..got back to the car and just was tired in my legs and the bottoms of my feets below my toes had that sore feeling that I get sometimes..but no pain coming from the AT. Sunday woke up and it was very stiff and the 1st walking was hard..but after a while it was fine..that day I did a short walk on pavement and skipped the trail walk. Monday was okay not as stiff..so I went on the two mile walk. Tuesday morning was bad..could barely walk 1st thing without limping pretty bad, Wednesday seemed worse then Tuesday..but always after a while it loosens up and is better. Today Thursday in the morning and 1st walking much better and right now so much better.

The pain is about 1 1/2" above my heel the lower part I guess of my AT?..so when I flex my foot back I can feel it..I do not have any redness going on..but I am walking still with a limp..not walking normal I have been doing ice and hot treatments and a herbal poultice on it.

My big concern is once this is healed...can I keep it from getting this bad again? What I have read to help prevent it..is stretching and getting stronger calfs.
I probably really over stressed it on that hike.

Thank you Laura...the Kinesiotape looks pretty cool...I should probably consider getting it. We did a short one night two day backpack trip during the 4th of July..had no issues or pain on that trip at all.

You might try a heel cushion lift. I found a Dr Scholl's
gel type lift did wonders after my 2 different Achilles partial tears had healed. Helped take the pressure off the tendon.

Your description of foot pain first thing in the morning sounds similar to plantar fasciatis -- but maybe not... Look it up and see what you think. It's controlled by using arch support inserts in your shoes or boots. Sounds odd, but it works.

CMC...The heel lifts sound interesting and may be something I should look into...how is your AT doing? were the tears on the same foot? Thank you very much for that suggestion

Kim.. Thank you...I am pretty sure it's not the Plantar Fasciatis going on..I have no pain on the bottom of my foot..thank goodness.

Thank you both!

I had heel pain first thing the morning and it would ease up after a bit of walking around. On the trail the pain in my heel got so bad I thought my hiking days were over. At the doc's, after explaining the symptoms, he said it was the achilles tendon needing stretching. It irritated the heel bone (by the ankle bone for the non-med types) The fix was to put the ball of my foot up on something whenever possible and stretch the tendon. After a couple of weeks the pain was gone and hasn't been back in a few years. I do keep up the stretching. Another thing he used as a diagnostic tool was ibuprofen. If 800mgs makes the pain go away it's inflammation and not something broken or cracked.

Mike thank you...I am glad to hear that the stretching has helped yours...I have started doing that as well...also need to get stronger calfs which I read helps the tendon get stronger..It is still sore but is healing..has been one week..I am hoping I can recover from this soon!