On Monday, I went on my normal one hour easy run. Halfway through the run my Achilles began to act up. It was bothering me to the point where I had to change my stride to relieve some pounding on the right Achilles. I really wanted to stop and walk back but that would mean 4 miles of walking. The run was painful and it left me thinking that I should take the next few days off from running. Later that day, I had treatment #5 of iontophoresis and treatment #6 the following day. I took Tues - Thurs off from running hoping that the leg will get better.
This morning I ran 5 miles to see how the leg would hold up. The Achilles felt fine, but everything else on my right leg didn't. The calves, hamstring, and soleus muscles were very tight and giving me hell. It may have been lack of fluids and stretching. This was one of those runs where if it wasn't one thing it was another. I was just glad to get the run over with.
Today's Run: 33:50 (5 miles - 6:46 pace)
1 comment:
In my experience, it hasn't been the achilles that is actually the problem, but the musculature of the lower leg getting ischemic and cramping severely. I also had six or more ionto treatments, and they didn't do any good. The problem wasn't inflammation, it was a lack of blood flow which caused a number of small 'knots' in the muscle, which would then tear under stress, etc.
The solution, for me, was anything that would generate excess blood flow to the lower legs. Running would normally do this, but obviously that is a problem. I did pool running and cycling for about ten days, and generally it would go away. Then light strength work like calf raises (body weight only, on stairs, 2setsX50reps) three times a week. Water and electrolytes are very important, too. Milk has a lot more of what you need than any sports drink--not sure if you're a milk drinker.
One other thing that I swear by now is cold water baths. If your PT has access to something like a 45-55F cold water bath, I would go for 10-15 minutes of that rather than the ionto. These baths really flush blood into and out of the muscles like nothing else.
Good luck!
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