Achilles Tendinitis
Achilles tendinitis means you feel pain in the large
tendon that extends from in the back of your heel to your calf
muscle. It hurts most when you get up in the morning and when
you start to walk or run. It will heal only if you stop running and
find another sport that doesn't hurt when you do it, such as
cycling, swimming, or pulling on a rowing machine.
The Achilles tendon is made up of thousands of
individual fibers, like a rope with thousand of strands. The fibers
can be broken if you apply a force greater than their inherent
strength. No medicines hasten healing. As soon as the tendon
stops hurting, doctors usually prescribe strengthening exercises,
but you have to exercise against greater resistance to become
strong and strong resistance prevents healing. If you want to
return to running or jogging, start out by jogging very slowly daily
until your tendon starts to hurt and then quit for the day. When
you no longer have any pain, you can strengthen the tendon by
learning how to run fast. You must stop immediately if you feel a
pulling behind your heel and each intense workout will require
several easy days to allow you to recover. Try to run very fast
once or twice a week, never on consecutive days.
March 1, 2006