Achilles annoyances

A pain-free existence is often a difficult goal to attain for the physically active.

It seems like every time you think you've dealt with every conceivable injury an activity can bring, a new ailment arises that expands your sports medical horizons and tries your patience.

That's exactly where I find myself at this point, as a sore Achilles tendon has stalled my marathon training and put a damper on other physical activities as well. The injury isn't serious enough to render me immobile, but the pain is noticeable enough to convince me that now is as good of a time as any to take some time off from the ol' running trail. I've never injured my Achilles before, so I figure it's best to air on the side of caution.

Admittedly, I know very little about Achilles tendon injuries. Aside from knowing that it was named after the Greek dude Brad Pitt portrayed in "Troy" and that it takes a long time to heal if it ruptures, I have about as much knowledge of the Achilles tendon as Homer Simpson has of quantum physics. A licensed doctor or someone who has gone through the recovery from a complete Achilles rupture would probably have a lot more information on the topic than myself.

However, my experiences with the injury have inhibited me to read up on it through a few online sources. Here are a few things I found most interesting (or, at the very least, surprising) to me about Achilles tendon injuries:

The inury can be caused by a lot of the same stuff that causes other sports injuries: Overuse, bumping up the intensity of your routine too quickly, improper footwear, poor running form, etc. This can make it difficult to diagnose the injury correctly, but for the most part, any Achilles problem is going to have the pain centered around the tendon. A sore Achilles (or Achilles tendonosis, the technical term) is considered to be a pretty common injury for middle distance or long distance runners and, according to this Web site, can be assessed in four stages (with me being somewhere between stages 2 and 3):

• Stage 1. No pain during exercise, but there is some discomfort in the morning when first getting out of bed. The stiffness and creaking go away after a few minutes and are fine the rest of the day. Lightly pinching the Achilles tendon with the forefinger and thumb in the morning or after exercise will probably indicate soreness.
• Stage 2. Pain during exercise or running, but performance is not affected. The stiffness and creaking continue to appear when first getting out of bed and continue to disappear shortly afterward. Lightly pinching the Achilles tendon with the forefinger and thumb in the morning or after exercise will indicate soreness.
• Stage 3. Pain during exercise or running that is detrimental to performance. The stiffness and creaking continue to appear when first getting out of bed, but may continue for some time and reappear at other points during the day. Lightly pinching the Achilles tendon with the forefinger and thumb in the morning or after exercise will indicate soreness.
• Stage 4. Hurts too much to exercise or run. The stiffness and creaking continue to appear when first getting out of bed, but may continue for most of the day. Lightly pinching the Achilles tendon with the forefinger and thumb at almost any time of day will indicate soreness

Treatment for a sore Achilles is actually pretty similar to an ankle injury. It basically requires rest, icing, compression, anti-swelling medication (i.e. Ibeprofen) and elevation for the first 2-3 days after the soreness initially develops. After that, you're supposed to work your way back with light activity, stretching, strengthening, balance work and, most importantly, exercise. According to this Web site, the best way to strengthen damaged tissue (in this case, the tendon) after an injury is to be active. However, the site also stresses to never push it to the point where the tendon starts to hurt.

The recovery time isn't easy to gauge compared to other injuries. Some Web sites recommend 1-2 weeks of rest to let the Achilles heal. Others recommend longer. What it really boils down to is how it feels for you. Start with light activitiy and gradually build yourself up from there. Ice it for 10-20 minutes after physical activity, but be ready to scale back on your activity if it's sore the next day. Like any other injury, it's important to be patient.

Ways to prevent future injuries are pretty basic. Essentially, exercise regularly to keep the tendon from becoming strained from increased activity, maintain a good diet (especially calcium) to prevent muscles from getting tight and causing unwanted strain on the tendon, and choose carefully when picking out footwear. The right pair of running shoes can go a long way in helping your foot strike the ground properly and cut down on wear and tear. A good stretching routine (most sites recommend the wall stretch) once the soreness subsides is also a good way to prevent injury.

You can tape an Achilles tendon much in the same way you can tape an ankle to prevent injury. However, the Web site I found for this recommends having a sports medicine professional do it, because it's considerably more complex than regular ankle taping.

Well, that's pretty much all I've got on everyone's favorite tendon. The only solace I can take with the injury is that at least it happened with six months to go until the actual marathon. Because if the injury was bad enough take down a Greek warrior, I'd imagine I wouldn't fair too well around Mile 15.