achilles pain

[Jslow]

I've been doing more running and riding and I tend to get some pain after pushing real hard. Wondering what other people do to help speed up the recovery of this.

Stretching, icing, active recovery by walking or easy riding seems to help.

Ive been limiting how frequently I do a hard ride or run but its getting annoying.

Any ideas?

[mtnbikerfred]

Depends on what's causing the pain. If you are not riding in "real" cycling shoes, I suggest you get some. The ultra-stiff sole lets you put more power to the pedals without hyper-extending your foot in front of your ankle. "Dipping" you heal down at the bottom of the pedal stroke is a sign that you seat is too low, and can damage your Achilles. You should be able to ride with your foot basically parallel to the ground most of the time. Although the two can cause similar symptoms, these are to be looked at separately. Anything else weird going on when you run/ride? I once had a pair of "mid-tops" the gave me a sore Achilles just from the pressure the cuff put on it when I ran.

Stretching before and after riding can be helpful. If you're sore, ice it and take your favorite anti-inflammatory. Take a break. Let it heal. Then, stretch out good before you hammer it.

Hope this helps.

[Zippy]

Does it hurt first thing in the morning when you get out of bed? If so, you may have plantar fasciitis.

If you do, stick a golf ball in the freezer and use it to roll out the painful spots on the bottom of your foot.

Make sure you stretch your feet, calves AND soleus muscles.

Google soleus stretches if you need some.

Eric

[mt dew]

I had the same problem a while back. The problem is usually caused by the achilles tendon being overstretched during excercise and once stretched even casual walking can hurt. Mine used to hurt first thing in the morning and after sitting for long periods of time.

Some solutions for the pain and healing are
1. Cut the sole insert from an old pair of shoes and place the heel section under the heel section of the shoes you wear the most.

2. Ice you achilles several times each day to control swelling and inflammation.

3. Ibuprofren can help directly after excercise.

4. Try not to do too much "mashing" of big gears, and maybe only ride/run every other day.

Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

[Jslow]

I am deffinately stiff in the mornings and notice most when I get outta bed. I have just begun stretching again... bad habits are hard to break. I do get a lot of relief from stretching.


I've been throwing my legs up and this seems to help with the swelling a bit without icing, when I ice its usually both feet in a bucket with water about 18 inches tall. That is sorta magical afterwards but then I get yelled at for using all the ice in the freezer. I'm considering replacing my cycling shoes. They are a carbon sole but I just feel like they need to go in the trash. not stiff anymore but still comfortable.

I have great results with naproxen (aleve) and I buy the wallmart version it works nicely and better for me than advil. I'm trying to reduce the pills I take so I can enjoy the post ride beers without fear of poisoning my liver, plus post ride beers help me not hurt also.

I did google soleus stretch and found this...there are a couple of them I don't do so I'll try adding this and see what happens I agree more stretching could deffinately help.
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...en-us%26sa%3DX