Injured A/R/T Boardsies Support Thread

gerard65

Technique wrote: »

Is there life after an achilles injury?

I've read some stuff online that basically says that an achilles injury never goes away.

I've been doing eccentric calf lifts 3 times a day for the past few weeks, and using the cross-trainer and exercise bike instead of going for a run. It doesn't help that I'm not the most patient person.

I'd be interested to hear peoples' opinions on running again after this injury.

Its a very frustrating injury. I've suffered for over a year now, tried everything but everytime I think its cured and I pick up my training it comes back with vengance. At this stage I've kind of given up. I hope you have better luck.

mithril

gerard65 wrote: »

Its a very frustrating injury. I've suffered for over a year now, tried everything but everytime I think its cured and I pick up my training it comes back with vengance. At this stage I've kind of given up. I hope you have better luck.

I picked it up 12 months ago, due to over-training for the Portumna 100k race, and it still has not fully cleared up. However, I am back running at the same level again with a sub 3 hour marathon in Kildare last month and a 10K PB in April.
Like Gerard says, its a very frustrating injury, and progress is very slow. All you can do is keep doing the heal drop and calf raise exercises and you should see eventually some improvement. And then, when you get to the level you can run again, its a matter of achieving as much as possible with a lower training load than before. For me, high mileage aggravates the injury and I take a few days rest every time I feel the ankle is getting inflamed. I found I could cope quite well with speed workouts, but long, slow, running in the hills - a previous favourite - seemed to do a lot of damage.
6 months in, disappointed with the rate of progress I got a referral to a surgeon and an MRI, but it was a waste of time and money. The success rate of surgery is not great, and the consultant recommended continuing the heal drops which was good advice since eventually I made further progress.

Jinny1

Hi All, I started training in November for DCM, all was going very well until I ran the Flora Mini on 4th June, where I suspected I got groin strain. At least thats what it felt like as thats where the pain was. I thought I could work through it. Hasn't been too bad, and I've been taking it a bit easier.
Was to do my LSR on Sat, 12 miles, had to give up @ 9m. Went out yesterday evening for a short one to see how I felt. Bad Idea, I finished off with the most excruciating pain down the front of my thigh.. will have to have it seen to, I assume physio? but needless to say, I am very distressed as don't want to have to take a long break at this detrimental stage of training, any ideas or suggestions for a speedy recovery very welcome !

shels4ever

gerard65 wrote: »

Its a very frustrating injury. I've suffered for over a year now, tried everything but everytime I think its cured and I pick up my training it comes back with vengance. At this stage I've kind of given up. I hope you have better luck.

I know how you feel with the giving up part, i'm in the same boat.Can run 6 days a week but nothing fast anymore. Have hung up the spikes now... but happy to get out almost every day.

jimbo21

hi i had my labral tear done on friday afternoon in whitfield in waterford still very sore today and a least i got out to see the finish of the waterford marthon, it should take around 12 weeks before iam back running fullpelt again . i been out since march so whats a few more weeks

Trig1

sick of being injured at the mo. I have a stress fracture on my femur that i've been trying to deal with for last 2 months- only found out its a stress fracture 10days ago- thought it was a hip problem the whole time- have been unable to run for 2 months- swim and cycle only, now doc wants me to do nothing for 10 days until specialist has a look at my mri chart, doing brian boru in 5 weeks and just did kilkee last week with no running training whatsoever, in work this morn and jarred my back- went to doc again and now I'm after locking my fasset joint?? whatever that means- can barely move, please god i'll be back in full training soon, good to have a rant here though!!

dahat

"settles in nicely for a wee while once more"...............bloody knee issues,not far from going the orthotic route at this stage

Slogger Jogger

3 months or so injured in my case. A repeat of an abductor strain I had last year. Its literally a pain in the backside. Cycling helps but this usually requires more time than I'd usually give to a run and its more weather dependant. Things are tight this year so the VHI that paid for specialist treatment last year isn't an option. Resting from running hasn't been much of a help either. I tried an easy run the other day and managed about 400m before having to stop with the discomfort I got a recommendation for an osteopath so I'm going to try that out.

Footy101

gerard65 wrote: »

Its a very frustrating injury. I've suffered for over a year now, tried everything but everytime I think its cured and I pick up my training it comes back with vengance. At this stage I've kind of given up. I hope you have better luck.

I've had problems with both my achilles since last year. Have had numerous physio sessions to try and get rid of the pain and exercises to strengthen muscles in calf etc. Nothing seems to work, a few weeks rest and they seem ok - then go for a run and then all of a sudden you're hobbling around the place. Sick of it. I'd try literally anything at this point but nothing out there seems to work.

Cartman78

In the same boat with both of my achilles at the moment - have taken about a month off from running after a heavy spring marathon training load followed immediately (and stupidly) by a fairly intense (but very enjoyable & rewarding) 10k programme.

Had a couple of trips to the physio, lots of stretching etc and re-joined a gym to keep the fitness up.

Very tentatively returning to the roads now but my late summer/early autumn half marathon plans are pretty much blown now either way. Just glad to be back running at the moment tbh

dahat

dahat wrote: »

"settles in nicely for a wee while once more"...............bloody knee issues,not far from going the orthotic route at this stage

Good news today,hope to start light jogging in 2 days,slight medial ligament issue.

Solobally8

dahat wrote: »

Good news today,hope to start light jogging in 2 days,slight medial ligament issue.

Great news dahat, best of luck with the comeback,

jimbo21

i am just after having my 2nd hip arthascopy 2 hips done now still have a long way way to go before i am back running, on my left hip i had a tare and on my right hip it was catching so i have a lot of work to do now to get back , very sore right now :mad:

dahat

Solobally8 wrote: »

Great news dahat, best of luck with the comeback,

Comeback fail.........rightly fed up...:mad:

run_Forrest_run

I've been suffering from hip flexor/bursitis problems for about 3 months now and I'm finally seeing some improvement.
The hip bursitis issue has been niggling at me for about a year or more but it was never bad enough to stop me training (yes, my own fault for ignoring it for so long:o).
However after about 4 months of decent training and speed work it finally gave up the ghost!

I went to a physio for some work and I was told I just needed to do lots of stretching & core work.
I was skeptical at first but I did some reading up on it and found a great article here

In addition to the link I also did some foam roller work on the IT band, some glutes stretches and push-ups.

So for 6 nights a week I would lock myself into a room and do lots of strengthening work, real basic stuff but jesus, I'd be sweating after it:)

I'm back running now, but this time I'm spending less time on roads and more on grass and I'm still doing the exercises (6 weeks later). I'm not back to doing the speed work on the track yet, personally I feel the interval work on the track was the main culprit (all on the left side).

I just wanted to share my experience and hope perhaps it might help someone else.

tHE vAGGABOND

Just coming back from sore hips, likely to have been the exact same thing you have had. I can [literaly] feel your pain

Fingers crossed going mad on stretches and exercises myself keeps the wolf from the door!

Jk_Eire

Just decided to bow out of the Frank Duffy 10 miler with an Achilles strain. Mild, but I think don't 10 miles would be wise. Felt like I was on track for a PB too. Raging.
The foam roller will be seeing plenty of use so I'm back for the half marathon.

Cartman78

Jk_Eire wrote: »

Just decided to bow out of the Frank Duffy 10 miler with an Achilles strain. Mild, but I think don't 10 miles would be wise. Felt like I was on track for a PB too. Raging.
The foam roller will be seeing plenty of use so I'm back for the half marathon.

Don't ignore achilles niggles, there'll be plenty more races you can do anyway.

I'm officially not running now, gonna give the achilles (x2) a few months to recover. Tried light running every third day for a couple of weeks but that really wasn't working.

Doing lots of cardio in the gym and doing the heel drops every time I'm near a set of stairs or steps.

Miffed at missing out on posting what would have been a massive half-marathon PB (don't do a lot of them and was in peak condition earlier in the summer) but will have to leave that for a future date

Marthastew

All very quiet on here so I'm hoping everybody is back training, fit and healthy.

Like an alcoholic who has been avoiding AA meetings I've been avoiding this thread as I didn't want to admit that I'm injured...

Well, here it goes.....

My name is Marthastew and I am an injured runner

I've had a recurring niggly left leg and I stupidly raced on it at the Bay 10K four weeks ago and I've been out since. I've recently found a great osteopath who is also a marathon runner so he knows his stuff and is extremely sympathetic.
I've a pinched nerve which is affecting the use of my left leg and with lots of rehab and dry needling he is confident he'll have me back on my feet for DCM, unfortunately no Berlin marathon for me:(
All is not lost as I can still swim and cycle and I'm not in any pain so things could be a lot worse. I'd give anything to head out on a run right now though:)

rainbow kirby

I'm injured too, unfortunately. Muscles in my lower back/right hip are playing up, and they have become so tight that the right side of my pelvis has tilted upwards. I can still run, but it's pretty painful and feels like an absolute slog every time I go out. Cycling is less painful, but still not perfect.

Time goal for GNR in 2.5 weeks has been thrown out, will probably just go with the 2 hour pace group and bring the nurofen.

RayCun

Sorry to hear it RK, I noticed you'd been quiet all right. (i thought you were just... otherwise engaged )
Any diagnosis/treatment?

Nanazolie

Rainbow Kirby, I assume you went to an osteopath to realign your pelvis / back? Good luck with that!

The plantar fasciitis flared up again, but this time I hope I caught it early enough. I am determined to run the half marathon mid-september, I missed it last year and have taken great care all this year to achieve it. I got my feet / gait analysed this morning, and will get orthoctics in 2 weeks, although I won't wear them for the race as you need your feet to get used to it. It's pricey, but I reckon I already spent far more than that in various 'cures' and pain killers. I have a high arch so it's a miracle I didn't get injured earlier.

To all people who are reluctant to change their shoes every 500 miles or so: a new pair will cost you less than 2 physio sessions, and you will need many more than 2 if you injure yourself. It's worth investing in the best running shoes you can afford, and also in very good town shoes. No pumps, slouches, high heels or cheap rubbish. Bad shoes will damage your feet, but also your knees, back and hips.

rainbow kirby

Was at the physio last week - got prescribed exercises and I'm back with her next week. A lot of the exercises are for the glutes - apparently something there is not firing as it should, and it's causing muscles higher up to take more strain than they can, which has in effect locked them up.

Cartman78

Nanazolie wrote: »

The plantar fasciitis flared up again, but this time I hope I caught it early enough. I am determined to run the half marathon mid-september, I missed it last year and have taken great care all this year to achieve it. I got my feet / gait analysed this morning, and will get orthoctics in 2 weeks, although I won't wear them for the race as you need your feet to get used to it. It's pricey, but I reckon I already spent far more than that in various 'cures' and pain killers. I have a high arch so it's a miracle I didn't get injured earlier.

Also blessed/cursed with hight arches - my problems started with plantar faciitis in March this year (was training for London marathon in April) - like yourself, I thought I had caught it in time and could 'manage' it while keeping the training up.

Should have really taken an extended break after London to let the PF settle down but ploughed on and the combo of the PF and already tight calves left me with achilles tendonitis in both legs that I just haven't been able to shake.

Miss the running big time, the gym can be such a soul-destroying slog at times and also miss having a concrete target/goal to work towards...."keeping fit" is a little to vague for my liking

Nanazolie

Cartman78 wrote: »

Also blessed/cursed with hight arches - my problems started with plantar faciitis in March this year (was training for London marathon in April) - like yourself, I thought I had caught it in time and could 'manage' it while keeping the training up.

Should have really taken an extended break after London to let the PF settle down but ploughed on and the combo of the PF and already tight calves left me with achilles tendonitis in both legs that I just haven't been able to shake.

That's the plan. I'm taking a break from training right now, I figure a few missed runs so close to the race won't make a difference. I swim to keep my lung capacity. The physio advised I still walk 20mn a day to keep the calves muscles working
Yes, thight calves make things far worse. No matter how many streches I do, I need to release them. Will try dry needling next week. Has anyone had it before?

Cartman78

Yeah...dry needling is fab for tight calves, provided that the person doing knows what they're up to

My previous physio was excellent at this but my current one isn't as good unfortunately.

You'll be pretty sore after it for a day or two but it's worth it imho

theboyblunder

Cartman78 wrote: »

Also blessed/cursed with hight arches - my problems started with plantar faciitis in March this year (was training for London marathon in April) - like yourself, I thought I had caught it in time and could 'manage' it while keeping the training up.

Should have really taken an extended break after London to let the PF settle down but ploughed on and the combo of the PF and already tight calves left me with achilles tendonitis in both legs that I just haven't been able to shake.

Miss the running big time, the gym can be such a soul-destroying slog at times and also miss having a concrete target/goal to work towards...."keeping fit" is a little to vague for my liking

I had terrible PF for nine months. Time off did nothing for it. Turns out I am a supinator and when mizuno changed the wave rider and precisions they didnt suit me anymore. Got two stress fractures into the bargain. Got a gait analysis done, changed shoes and the PF dissappeared, almost instantly.

Might be an idea to get your gait checked out by someone who knows what they are talking about - did mine in B2R (ballymount).

Good luck

Caprica

Out with a broken foot. Stumbled over some exposed tree roots in the Phoenix Park. Not a bad break so was given a compression bandage for week 1, back to the clinic yesterday and now in a boot for 3 more weeks. Was told I will need physio work once the foot heals.

The icing on the cake for a miserable running year. Got sick before London and ran poorly, struggled for form after that, holidays, food posioning, lack of motivation. Will be starting back at rock bottom in a few weeks time.

tHE vAGGABOND

Have tiny pain on inside of inner thigh, aka a really small [grade 1] groin strain/pull..

Poxy timing, I totally know it should be fine, and gone in a few days [or so], but this was to be my biggest KM week for Berlin, and it really is the worst time to get any kind of injury...

Bought good strapping for it, wearing now, and a huge box of ibuprofen - and will rediscover religion and say a few prayers

Slogger Jogger

Good luck the Vaggabond. I'm nearing 5 months off running with a groin injury which hasn't responded to treatment. In Dingle at the moment where the plan earlier in the year was to do the marathon here. A fallback effort to run the half marathon without any time pressures is off the table too as an attempt to run the other day had to be curtailed after 10k. Not running when you're so used to it is the pits. On the plus side its more quality time with the family