I've been having pains in both Achilles tendons for over three months now. I've just looked up info on the internet to figure out possible causes and cures. It seems a major factor for me has been that I was wearing very different shoes during this time. One pair with a flat sole; another pair very stiff; another pair very soft; another pair kind of shapeless; and I was also in house slippers a lot. Bottomline, my tendons now hurt! I will be trying some exercises I found online and see what I can do about my shoes. Has anyone else had pains in the Achilles tendons? What was probably the cause? What helped you to relieve it?
You have a case of plantar fasciitis, if the pain is sharp and intense in the heel. The pain is particularily intense when you first stand on your feet, after sitting. I developed it many years after a motorcycle accident caused me to lose about a centimetre of length in my left leg, causing my weight distribution to shift. It became very painful in 1990. My podiatrist fitted me with a pair of prescription orthotic arch supports. They cost $300, but they did the trick, and I still wear them on a daily basis. Last fall, it started acting up again, in an agonising fashion. I had started a new job that required long periods of standing on a concrete based floor. I found almost instant and complete relief by Krazy Glueing a pair of Dr. Scholl's Heel Pain pads onto my hard nylon orthotics. The heel pads cost ten bucks. You can buy over-the-counter orthotic supports, and many people find they work very well. If they don't, consult a podiatrist, and get a custom pair. They cost a lot, but you'll use them for decades.
It's a constant medium pain that lessens after rest or upon workout, but that gets bad afterwards (so bad I can barely walk). I've noticed I have changed how I walk - I barely touch the ground with my heels, but walk mostly on the front part of the sole - which is actually additional stress on the Achilles tendons and calf muscles. I'll change my footwear and do exercises, and if it doesn't get any better in a month, see a doctor.
Achilles tendons General Injury Prevention for Achilles tendons: Exercise regularly, if you are not familiar with how to work out properly, read some fitness and workout books before starting, and/or consult with a trainer. Almost all gyms have trainers, eat a balanced diet, drink plenty of water, and get enough sleep, maintain a good weight, avoid smoking and excessive caffeine, alcohol, and drugs, take care of any foot or leg growths or dislocations, spend as much of your exercise time as possible on soft, rather than hard, surfaces, increase your exercise level in small rather than big increments, If you feel like you might be getting sick: reduce your workout level and lastly, Listen to your body... :deal:
I wouldn't want to get you overly paranoid but there are various potentials if there are other "symptoms". I'd query do you eat a lot of Carbohydrates? Do you find other pains after eating wheat products? Do you suffer flatulence? Do you ever feel withdrawn or tired? If so then it's not necessarily your shoes being the complete problem, if not then you need to seek a Chiropodist. (You might have to ask a GP to refer you if they can't handle it themselves)
What do you mean by 'a lot' ... I'm a vegetarian. I barely eat anything made of refined flour or refined sugar. No. I don't seem to have Celiac disease, if this is what you are getting at. I eat a lot of grains, of various kinds - white rice, brown rice, barley, proso, buckwheat, wheat, oat. I seem to have no problem with any of those. No. Yes.
No. I suspect my muscles and tendons might have atrophied a bit because my life is so sedentary, and working out on the weekends isn't enough. The curse of 'modern life'. I'd have to figure out how to make time and space for some regular and frequent enough exercise!
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/72441/understanding_achilles_tendon_pain.html?cat=70 Do you have arches in your shoes? And it's both feet? One more than the other? You may need a sports medicine doc to do some testing. 6 weeks is long enough to warrant a visit to the doctor. Is the pain alleviated by ibuprofen or aspirin? Have you tried anything else. Which position(s) cause the most pain. Scale of the pain out of 10. Is the pain constant? Worse at particular times of day?
I have flat feet therefore I have orthotics but what to do is think first is there anything in your shoes that caused you to walk differently , pain in your feet themselves for instance , which caused you to favour one foot or leg to another otherwise stretch out your tendons at your own pace ,and can you feel the stretch in your calve muscles ? if so and probably , the problem is more about stretching the tendons in the entire leg whether it be three times a day , once a day or every other day , hold the stretch for about 30 seconds , for 3-6 sets , 3 to 1 a day on each leg , regardless of whether one leg has no pain or not you want balance it has worked for me I'm not a doctor but I have been there done that
When I was a long-distance runner on the school track team many years ago I remember getting really bad achilles tendonitis. The coach gave me some stretches to do (for that and shin splints). That was bad - my entire lower legs were in pain. After about 2 weeks of stretching and not overdoing it (e.g. not running on concrete) everything was better. If it's been bothering you for that long, I think you should see a doctor. If it's lasted that long, there is a good chance it will be difficult to figure out by yourself.
