Achilles Tendonosis

[MarkU]

I started having problems with my left Achilles back at the end of July. Went to my PCP who diagnosed it as Achillles tendonitis and prescribed ice, rest and some NSAIDs.

No improvement in eight weeks and I developed a tender lump on the back of the Achilles.

Saw an orthopedic surgeon this week and he diagnosed it as tendonosis, with some micro-tears of the tendon. He put me in a cam boot to immobilize it and wants to see me in about a month.

In the meantime no running, jumping, cycling, swimming, golf... well you get the picture.

He did say that I can still go to the gym and do upper-body and core stuff as long as I wear the boot.

Kind of a downer since I was supposed to do my final triathlon of the year this weekend.

I guess in the grand scheme of things I should be glad that my cardiac health isn't an issue. I'll get through it, but just a bit discouraged right now.

Mark

 

[SumoRunner]

Be very glad it was caught with minor tears. I once saw a track runner rip his achilles in two. His calf muscle rolled up like a window shade and the pain was more intense than you could imagine. It required major surgery and a year to heal. He never ran again. Every time you put on that boot think happy happy joy joy, this is getting better and better every day.

 

[kodi]

Mark, sorry to hear the news and it always happens at the most inconvenient time. Just listen to the doc and you will be fine. Hard to do when you're so active, but it helps. Good luck

 

[Philip B]

Inconvenience

Inconvenience

Yeah, injuries do seem to happen at inconvenient times. I broke my foot a couple of years ago just as ski season was beginning. I spent three months in a damn boot cast. I did try to get the doctor to just put my ski boot on my foot, but he wouldn't go for it... obvious reasons.

-Philip

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Mark, I'm 9 years behind you but just wanted to say that I liked your post. I hope to reach that point one day when the shadow of the AVR is not the first thing that everyone looks at when there is any problem. Sorry about the tendonitis. These are pesky problems that seem to linger longer that a simple broken bone would. I hope your's is resolved soon.

Larry

 

[JeffM]

sorry to hear about your injury mark. I am in a similar camp in that I have injured myself numerous ways and it always seems to be when I'm making good strides in performance. I''ve had achilles tendon issues as a cyclist and as a runner. It's debilitating and it can take a long time to heal, much like plantar faciitis but even more limiting. Have you looked into PT or does your doc want you to just rest it until more healing takes place? Now that you've injured it, I can tell you that it's going to be even more important to warm up that area thoroughly prior to running and biking and before even mild stretching. You probably know that already though. It helped me to massage it before runs before and after. Good luck with your recovery.

 

[tommy]

Sorry to hear about the AT. Good idea to keep after the upper and core. Do what you can when you can. I wish I'd taken my own advice this summer when I was aid up with a groin injury. Keep your chin up and your fridge closed.

 

[LittleOwl]

Sorry to hear that! I've torn my left achilles twice (First time micro-tears like yours, second time full-on tear with a crazy surgery because I was bad and did not rest my tendon the first time like I should have!). But definitely stick with the core workouts - it will make it easier to get back in the swing of things after you heal. I highly recommend the Strasburg Sock for when you start training again... I swim/bike/run as well and it makes such a huge difference in stretching out the calf, heel, and achilles. I just wear it around the house for about an hour before my long rides/runs and use it to help stretch out the soreness. They look funny, but they work great!!

Feel better soon!!!

 

[sylviayasgur]

oh, mark. sorry to hear about your injury. must be so upsetting to you. i agree with those who said that you are lucky to have caught it before it tore completely.
is it painful? i have had "pump bump" at the back of my heel/achilles and have stopped running for about a month now. i can still do the elliptical though and bike (not a bike fan). how about swimming? can you do that? maybe it's something to look into? although it's not running and may not get your heart rate up as high, it's definitely an alternative that is not weight bearing? hope you feel better and i'm thinking of you.
stay well, rest it!

 

[MarkU]

Achilles Update

Achilles Update

Haven't posted anything for a while, so here's a quick update:

Still wearing the boot for my Achilles, but go back to the orthopedic surgeon next week. It's definitely improving and the doc is hoping to get me out of the boot and start rehab in a couple of weeks. Probably about six weeks of rehab before he lets me run again, but doc thinks I can get back to swimming and cycling pretty quickly.

While I was dealing with the Achilles I also had a wisdom tooth extracted by an oral surgeon a few weeks ago. Developed a slight infection so have been on a couple of rounds of antibiotics. Also had a pretty severe reaction to the oxycodone right after the procedure. Took one for the pain that evening and within about 10 minutes was suddenly hit by violent nausea. The next thing I remember was coming to on the bathroom floor with a cut on my forehead. That was the last oxycodone I took and got along just taking Tylenol for the pain for the next couple of days.

Looking forward to getting all this stuff behind me.

Mark

 

[JeffM]

Glad to hear you're making some progress Mark. I now have to lay off training for a few weeks as I recover from prostate surgery (yesterday). They gave me an extra strength Vicodin before I left the hospital and I was a bit nauseated from it. Narcotics pain relievers are nothing to play with, that's for sure. Scary to hear you passed out from taking them. Sorry to hear about the incident but glad you're doing better.

 

[Greg a]

Norm / normofthenorth posted this link in another thread http://achillesblog.com/

 

[drivetopless]

Hang in there. I too had Achilles Tendonitis at the beginning of this year with the kidney bean shaped lump on the back of my ankle. It took 2 + months of twice weekly physical therapy, which included LOTS of stretching and heel walking and painful massage of the bump. It did finally get better. It seems to flare a little still, but the stretching helps calm it down. Sucks to get old. This is common after you hit your 40's. Glad it didn't tear on you.

 

[normofthenorth]

Sorry to say that many of the bloggers and posters on achillesblog.com who actually TORE their AT -- whether they get surgery or skip it -- eventually find a more satisfying resolution of their problem than the minority there who check in with tendinosis or Haglund's deformity (which you may also be experiencing). "Eventually" takes a long time -- often close to a year for near-total recovery -- but it almost always ends up pretty close to "good as new". But the tendinosis and Haglund's deformity folks often seem to have lingering or chronic problems. (I tore both of mine out of the blue, so I can't give you any wisdom on tendinosis from my experience.)

Several of the tendinosis sufferers have tried the new-fangled (and expensive and painful) "PRP" injections -- basically a few CCs of your own blood with the red blood cells removed, so it should be enriched in platelets and "growth factors" -- despite the fact that the only careful study of its effectiveness for tendinosis recently found it no more effective than saline.

Good luck, Mark. I'm sure there are lots of people here who'd give a lot to have their ankle worry them more than their ticker! In context, this may qualify as an "enviable problem" -- always the best kind to have! ;-)