Stupid Achilles Tendonitis, how to heal?

[CSIBMOD]

Hi all, I started training Muay Thai about a year and a half ago. I train anywhere from 1 to 3 hours most days, including the usual jumping rope, running a bit, skip knees, drills, sparring? Etc.
 

It’s all going well except for the fact that my Achilles are completely f**ked. They hurt especially during jumping rope, running, and skip knees which are all integral to training. It’s been since last December that I’ve had this off and on, but mostly on, and it’s driving me crazy. 
 

Has anyone had this issue and find a way to address it? I’m doing physical therapy, stretching, strengthening exercise and it’s still an issue. All suggestions are welcome! 

[Xestaro]

Does it hurt more down towards the heel or more up towards your calf?

I had pain around the area but more upwards towards the calf and my trainer, who also does physical therapy and whatnot, told me that its not actually the tendon that is the problem here but the calf muscles. He was absolutely right as my physiotherapist confirmed. My problem was that with my heavy frame (1,94m, big man build) and lack of training beforehand, this area wasn't used to the strain of getting up on my toes a lot and cramps up easily.

Some (painful) massaging and foam rolling helped but I have to really keep treating those muscles after every training or they'll start acting up again.

 

Both therapists (my trainer and my physiotherapist) told me that if its really the tendon, it usually hurts down towards the heel.

[deano]

Hi

If there's any long lasting swelling on your Achilles and depending on your age you may be heading in to Tendinosis territory, common amongst runners after a lay off, negative calf raises worked for me. there's plenty about it on You tube, might save you a trip to a physio.

[Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu]

I get this in stretches when I'm doing a lot of jumping knees on the bag, also get it from skipping rope, etc. I get some relief from using a foam roller. I kneel on the ground with the tops of my feet against the floor, put the roller on the backs of my Achilles and then just sit on the top of the roller to create pressure. I don't move much, just leave the weight on it. I do this as a warm-up and cool-down. I also tape my ankle when the pain is a lot, as the compression seems to help.

My husband is a basketball fan and loves to freak out anytime my Achilles are hurting. He has a point. It's a very common injury and he says they can just snap if you don't warm them up properly or injure them too badly. That's pretty terrifying. I do try to get them massaged when they're very painful, which in Thailand isn't expensive but massage in other parts of the world can be pretty limiting due to cost. But mine go away and I forget that they were a problem until they become a problem again.

[CSIBMOD]

On 10/21/2019 at 2:43 AM, Xestaro said:

Does it hurt more down towards the heel or more up towards your calf?

I had pain around the area but more upwards towards the calf and my trainer, who also does physical therapy and whatnot, told me that its not actually the tendon that is the problem here but the calf muscles. He was absolutely right as my physiotherapist confirmed. My problem was that with my heavy frame (1,94m, big man build) and lack of training beforehand, this area wasn't used to the strain of getting up on my toes a lot and cramps up easily.

Some (painful) massaging and foam rolling helped but I have to really keep treating those muscles after every training or they'll start acting up again.

 

Both therapists (my trainer and my physiotherapist) told me that if its really the tendon, it usually hurts down towards the heel.

I have NO idea why I never got notifications of responses her and I’m just seeing this now. Grrr. Anyhow, it down toward the heel. Strangely, the issue just sorta went away on its own. I changed the type of shoes I was wearing and all of a sudden the pain went away. Weird but I guess there is something to be said about supportive footwear. 

[CSIBMOD]

On 11/6/2019 at 9:16 AM, Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu said:

I get this in stretches when I'm doing a lot of jumping knees on the bag, also get it from skipping rope, etc. I get some relief from using a foam roller. I kneel on the ground with the tops of my feet against the floor, put the roller on the backs of my Achilles and then just sit on the top of the roller to create pressure. I don't move much, just leave the weight on it. I do this as a warm-up and cool-down. I also tape my ankle when the pain is a lot, as the compression seems to help.

My husband is a basketball fan and loves to freak out anytime my Achilles are hurting. He has a point. It's a very common injury and he says they can just snap if you don't warm them up properly or injure them too badly. That's pretty terrifying. I do try to get them massaged when they're very painful, which in Thailand isn't expensive but massage in other parts of the world can be pretty limiting due to cost. But mine go away and I forget that they were a problem until they become a problem again.

For some reason, I never saw that anyone replied to my question. So weird. But I did start stretching much more, saw my physical therapist for some dry needling, and changed the shoes I was wearing and that seemed to get rid of the pain.
 

But I will start taping my ankles when I get back to more intense training. And the foam roller is always a good idea but one that I also always forget. Lol. I wish massages weren’t upwards of $100 an hour here. If I’m ever able to travel to Thailand, it will be a real treat to enjoy some massage. 

I was even running more to get ready to compete and it still got better. I guess I’m not going to be hobbling around forever. And I won my sparring tournament too, so everything worked out. Lol

My physical therapist did tell me that you have to be careful about the Achilles but that Achilles tendinitis doesn’t indicate that it will tear. We didn’t get into a big discussion about it so I can’t back that up with extra info. I would imagine that all the crazy jumping is what causes most basketball injuries which is less of a factor for MT. Maybe that will help your husband chill a little about the Achilles situation.

 

[CSIBMOD]

On 11/4/2019 at 7:33 AM, deano said:

Hi

If there's any long lasting swelling on your Achilles and depending on your age you may be heading in to Tendinosis territory, common amongst runners after a lay off, negative calf raises worked for me. there's plenty about it on You tube, might save you a trip to a physio.

It was definitely tendinitis but may have been getting worse. I’m 42 sooo, age is definitely a factor. My PT gave me some stretches and calf raises to deal with the issue. Dry needling helped too as did changing the type of shoes I wear.

its been some time since I asked this question But for some weird reason, I never any notifications. It’s almost gone at this point thankfully but it’s going to be a matter of proactively preventing a recurrence. 

[Xestaro]

On 12/7/2019 at 3:21 AM, CSIBMOD said:

I have NO idea why I never got notifications of responses her and I’m just seeing this now. Grrr. Anyhow, it down toward the heel. Strangely, the issue just sorta went away on its own. I changed the type of shoes I was wearing and all of a sudden the pain went away. Weird but I guess there is something to be said about supportive footwear. 

Good that you got it sorted out!

 

When I consulted my trainer about it he also treated my feet with some of his therapeutic torture instruments which was fucking painful but also helped. He went on a bit of a ramble about how people pay far too little attention to the health of their feet even though we all need them dayly for our whole lives and so much other stuff in your body depends on them as the form the basis of your posture and all.

He recommended using one of those spiky massage-balls for a bit every day. Basically you stand up and put one foot on the ball so you can create pressure, then you slowly move it back and forth. Doesn't exactly feel pleasant but helps to "unlock" your feet and the tendons in them.

When I saw him about it before showing me the thing with the ball he basically did the same thing to my feet with something that looked an awful lot like a handheld steel axe-blade

Yea well.... as my Kali trainer back in the day once said: "yea a healthy degree of sadism is necessary if you want to be a trainer."

Edited December 11, 2019 by Xestaro

[CSIBMOD]

On 12/11/2019 at 4:56 AM, Xestaro said:

Good that you got it sorted out!

 

When I consulted my trainer about it he also treated my feet with some of his therapeutic torture instruments which was fucking painful but also helped. He went on a bit of a ramble about how people pay far too little attention to the health of their feet even though we all need them dayly for our whole lives and so much other stuff in your body depends on them as the form the basis of your posture and all.

He recommended using one of those spiky massage-balls for a bit every day. Basically you stand up and put one foot on the ball so you can create pressure, then you slowly move it back and forth. Doesn't exactly feel pleasant but helps to "unlock" your feet and the tendons in them.

When I saw him about it before showing me the thing with the ball he basically did the same thing to my feet with something that looked an awful lot like a handheld steel axe-blade

Yea well.... as my Kali trainer back in the day once said: "yea a healthy degree of sadism is necessary if you want to be a trainer."

Thank you! This is a simple thing to incorporate into my training routine. Seems common sense that we need to pay attention to our feet but I never really thought about it. 
 

You had me cracking up about the sadism part. Definitely true!

[Xestaro]

On 12/13/2019 at 5:05 PM, CSIBMOD said:

Thank you! This is a simple thing to incorporate into my training routine. Seems common sense that we need to pay attention to our feet but I never really thought about it. 
 

You had me cracking up about the sadism part. Definitely true!

He said it while demonstrating some sort of joint lock on someone and had everybody flinch a little as they noticed how painful it was

Now my current trainer.... he combines martial arts and physical therapy so he definitely is a sadist

I mean: I saw a few of his old fights from back in the day. He was this aggressive kind of fighter who threw lots of elbows and whatnot

 

The massage-ball thing even works while sitting btw. As long as you can generate pressure. You can exert more force while standing of course but depending on how much you actually need...

Edited December 16, 2019 by Xestaro