Achilles tendon problem

Russ Smith · September 29th, 2008, 07:26 AM

After the debacle with the Jets yesterday I decided to go jogging to let off steam. I hadn't run in 2 weeks because I slightly pulled my left achilles when running then. I'd been babying it since then, ice, heat, icy hot etc and it had completely stopped hurting.

I had been running for maybe 90 seconds when it pulled again and I had to limp back home.

Did I just not wait long enough or should I be seeing a doctor about this? there's no bruise or anything so I didn't pop it I think it's just pulled but I was quite surprised that it happened again. I pulled the same one about a year ago running on a treadmill that but healed fine. I'm now wondering if I just have some chronic issue there.

Pariah · September 29th, 2008, 07:30 AM

Probably wouldn't hurt to see a doctor to make sure you didn't partially tear it or anything.

But, FYI, lack of a bruise doesn't mean it's not popped. What tells me that you didn't completely tear it is that you're still walking around (when I tore mine I just couldn't walk...it didn't really hurt, there was no bruise or swelling, it just didn't work).

Better safe than sorry, IMO.

Russ Smith · September 29th, 2008, 09:33 AM

Yeah if you pop it the pain is excruciating guys think they got hit in the back of the leg when it happens.

What concerns me is it's 3 times now in about 15 months.

Probably going to have to end up seeing a doc because if I can't run or jumprope it's going to really limit my aerobic exercise.

Russ Smith · October 10th, 2008, 02:21 PM

Definitely something wrong. 13 days after I pulled it the last time, I pulled it again at work today. Was helping someone out by lifting a heavy box of coffee mugs off a storage rack and as I pulled the box off the shelf the tendon pulled again.

Pariah · October 10th, 2008, 04:36 PM

Get it checked out. It's something that WILL heal (no pun intended) on its own, but if you get to the point to where it's torn completely, recovery is a bitch.

The pain isn't so bad; my knee surgery recovery was worse, but the achilles recovery was far more debilitating. I'm only able to run again this week, and the atrophy in my calf is still very apparent.

If you have to walk around in a boot for a month, do it. It's way better than being out of commission for half the year.

Who knows, though. Maybe it's something completely different. Good luck!

AZZenny · October 16th, 2008, 10:22 PM

It's possible to have chronic achilles tendinitis, alas I can say from experience. I've had off and on problems, esp. on the right, for about 6-7 years, at one time so bad I could hardly wear anything other than clogs -- any pressure on the tendon was awfully painful. Yet it never actually pulled or tore. When I had plantar fasciitis a couple years ago they did an MRI of the lower leg, and my R achilles tendon looked like it had been frayed and patched and spliced in half a dozen places. It gets OK for awhile, then for some reason it goes haywire fairly suddenly.

In the past two weeks it's started to flare up, and I can see just from looking that it's swollen compared to the other one. So back to wearing a foot brace at night, carefully stretch it a couple times a day, watch out for the shoes I wear, motrin three times a day... and hope.