Achilles Tendonitis

daydorunrun

I struggled with this for 5 months two years ago. Ended up getting shockwave therapy on it. Expensive and painful but did the job. Here’s where I went-

https://www.sportssurgeryclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Shockwave-Therapy-WEB.pdf

I have since bought one of these

https://nordicprostore.com/products/hyperice-hypervolt-massage-gun?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsKzBhev77wIVh7PtCh3_zw18EAQYASABEgLwZPD_BwE

And regularly treat the area with it, works a treat.

Ceepo

HungryRepair54 wrote: »

I read this thread a couple of days back out of interest.

Had a sore achilles y'day after my run, woke up this morning with it stiff.

Currently cycling between compression and ice.

I'm blaming this thread for it happening.

Yeah, that's how all injuries are pick up.

Unknownability

daydorunrun wrote: »

I struggled with this for 5 months two years ago. Ended up getting shockwave therapy on it. Expensive and painful but did the job. Here’s where I went-

https://www.sportssurgeryclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Shockwave-Therapy-WEB.pdf

I have since bought one of these

https://nordicprostore.com/products/hyperice-hypervolt-massage-gun?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsKzBhev77wIVh7PtCh3_zw18EAQYASABEgLwZPD_BwE

And regularly treat the area with it, works a treat.

Do you mind me asking the approximate cost?

Marty Bird

Marty Bird wrote: »

Anyone suffer from insertional tendonitis were the Achilles goes into the calcaneus anyone any tips for this?

My OH has this for years..
Haglands deformity is the medical term I believe.
One ankle he needed surgery it was unbearable, he tried orthotics, ice, rehab, steroid injections etc the works first. Never had any bother since that surgery.
Now the other ankle has flared up Alot over the last few weeks, was always bothersome but unbearable now. Hes trying ice, orthotics, splints, physio, and went for extracorporeal shockwave therapy recently, too early to say if that will make a difference, if not it's surgery next. We've heard PRP might be an option too
It's a tough one this one
Have you tried a night splint? It might help,

Reg'stoy

daydorunrun wrote: »

I struggled with this for 5 months two years ago. Ended up getting shockwave therapy on it. Expensive and painful but did the job. Here’s where I went-

https://www.sportssurgeryclinic.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Shockwave-Therapy-WEB.pdf

I have since bought one of these

https://nordicprostore.com/products/hyperice-hypervolt-massage-gun?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsKzBhev77wIVh7PtCh3_zw18EAQYASABEgLwZPD_BwE

And regularly treat the area with it, works a treat.

Have a very similar massage gun, which attachment do you use and how exactly do you massage the area?

Marty Bird

[Deleted User] wrote: »

My OH has this for years..
Haglands deformity is the medical term I believe.
One ankle he needed surgery it was unbearable, he tried orthotics, ice, rehab, steroid injections etc the works first. Never had any bother since that surgery.
Now the other ankle has flared up Alot over the last few weeks, was always bothersome but unbearable now. Hes trying ice, orthotics, splints, physio, and went for extracorporeal shockwave therapy recently, too early to say if that will make a difference, if not it's surgery next. We've heard PRP might be an option too
It's a tough one this one
Have you tried a night splint? It might help,

Yes I’ve tried the night splint no difference, physio did recommend orthotics again no different. Mine can get really painful when I run on consecutive days.

Marty Bird

Marty Bird wrote: »

Yes I’ve tried the night splint no difference, physio did recommend orthotics again no different. Mine can get really painful when I run on consecutive days.

I think the night splint needs to be used for 2 months at least to see some difference.
Have you looked into shockwave therapy? Oh has only has 2 sessions and has had Alot of pain after, so hopefully this is an inflammatory response, it's worth a shot before surgery, apparently it has a success rate of about 77%.

pauloYYC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/116883614#Comment_116883614

Hi - would you mind sharing what the ballpark cost of the surgery was?

I had two small tears in my achilles confirmed by scan just before Christmas, steroids, anti inflammatories, then nearly 5 months of physio, strengthening & orthotics later. All have helped, from not being able to walk down to stairs to running 3 times a week, but the pain / nagging discomfort is still there most days, more severe after prolonged exercise. Haven't dared to go back playing football since COV regulations allowed because I can nearly already tell that the sprints & twisting are going to cause real trouble.

I'm nearly at wits end & have always thought of surgery as a last resort, but I'm sick of my bloody heel being the first thing I think about with that first step out of bed in the morning.

Ceepo

This might be an interesting read for people on this thread.

https://www.painscience.com/tutorials/achilles-tendinitis.php

davegilly

As the OP, I'll give a quick update on how it's been going.

Achilles flared up in January 2021 and I stepped back from running a bit until early March when I stopped completely due to Achilles pain. It's now 7 months from initial pain and 5 months from when I stopped running and the pain in the morning has disappeared for about the last 10 days or so. Achilles is still a little tender to touch but there is no longer any daily pain or discomfort thankfully. Apart from a 15 minute test run last week I haven't done any running for 5 months. Been cycling and swimming over those months to keep myself sane.

So what worked? No idea. I did hundreds if not thousands of heel drops. Heel raises. Calf stretches. Icing. Rest. NSAIDs, bouts of physio/shockwave therapy. Maybe it all contributed or none of it did. I've a feeling most of the recovery was simply down to time and not much else.

Was going to start running again, gently, week of August 16 as a 6 week lead up to one of the Quest Adventure races. However I've had a bit of a setback last week and tore a shoulder muscle messing with the kids so looks like I'm out of action again for a month or so with that. Maybe it's no harm, gives the Achilles a few extra weeks to fully repair itself. Looks like 2021 is finished now for any events and onwards and upwards to 2022.

So, long story short - Achilles Tendonitis takes a looooong time to recover from, there is absolutely no quick fix for this plus I'm not even sure I've fully recovered yet. I'll update again in a few weeks when hopefully I get back running again with hopefully no pain.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117709146#Comment_117709146

Hi i really have no idea it was covered by insurance, but I vaguely remember possible figure of 3000 on some paperwork, this was with Dr Stephen kearins in Galway.

Have you tried shockwave? He's had really good outcomes with that, a couple of sessions is all he needed. And he stopped the heel drops and raises and that definitely helped!

davegilly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117719937#Comment_117719937

I stopped the heel drops as well a month or so ago. Could be coincidence that pain stopped after this or maybe it took time for them to work? No idea unfortunately.

The first shockwave treatment made a huge difference also. There was a noticeable reduction in morning pain after it. There didn't seem to be much or any difference after subsequent treatments but again maybe it just needed time after them. Who knows.

pauloYYC

Many thanks to both of you - I will look into the shockwave treatment for sure, sounds like that is the next step. We are on the base VHI 'covered for feck all' plan, which is another reason why I'm wary to go looking too deep into the surgery.