Boydsta

As you increase working load/stress little annoying things like this will popup. I had the same issue. Let it rest and dont rush recovery. Listen to your body

FBinNY 

One thing that might help riding with an Achilles problem is moving your cleats back, or your feet forward.

This shortens the lever arm on the foot, and the calf/Achilles strain. It's not going to be a miracle, but it will help somewhat. Also, ride lower gears because the strain is proportional to the pedal force you're applying. Higher cadence in lower gears will help both the quads and Achilles.

Then, and this is the most important ----- LISTEN TO YOUR BODY ----- and be conscious of how the affected areas feel, while not masking anything with drugs.

manapua_man

This.

I had some tendonitis issues a while back and I basically ended up not going to kendo practice for about a year and was doing a bunch of stretches fairly frequently. Showed the doctor a video of what the regular 2-3 hr classes were like and she shut that down pretty quick.

FBinNY 

Getting professional advice on treatment is always sound advice. However, while the doc may understand the medical and treatment aspects, he's programed to treat the problem, not necessarily the totality of the patients issues. So the advice tends to be very conservative, staying on the "safe" side, not necessarily focused on a faster return to cycling.

Also, unless he's a sports medicine specialist, or a cyclist himself he may not understand the specific and unique bicycle related considerations, nor the types of changes one may do on the bike that would help.

So the OP is wise to get advice on both sides of the issue and put it together to find his own way through

Stadjer

I've had issues with both achilles for more than ten years, but my physician is the rare kind that really communicates and takes me seriously as the one who in the end has to manage the problem. That's very helpful in case of achilles tendonitis because it's not something that comes once and then it gets cured. We made a plan together, but part of that plan is to take time for recovery when the pain is too much. Not too much to take, but it signals that it would get worse without a rest from sport.

I stretch the calfs and tendons everyday, put ice on the achilles after sports if they hurt considerably, make sure I stay hydrated and take in enough magnesium (my calfs tend to cramp and shorten otherwise, putting stress on the achilles). In the morning, just after getting out of bed is the moment when the achilles lets me know it's stressed too much. If one them still hurts/feels stiff the 3rd morning after the day I did sports, it's time for a week rest, no running or football. Of course everybody should find their own benchmark depending on their body, age and the intensity of their exercise, but I think it's a good idea to find your own benchmark for what pain/discomfort can be tolerated without making it worse, beyond quick recovery. Find out where the safe side ends.

What seems to speed up the recovery and prevents pain in my case is the shoes I wear when I'm not exercising. Boots or dress shoes with a bit of heel and/or an inlay pad takes the stress off the achilles when walking, just because the angle between calf and foot eases. Movement (blood flow) without stress really helps my achilles to stay/get back in shape for sports.

yaks_rule

Thanks and I have put in heel lifts in my bicycling shoe and that seems to help.

yaks_rule

Normally, I would be taking it easy, but I have to train for the bike tour. I will be going up alp d'huez one day and then the col d'galibier the next. I did another mountain ride this past weekend and both my Achilles and my quad tendonitis bothered me toward the end of the ride. I changed out the gearing and put a 11-42 on the rear cassette so I was spinning rather than mashing up the climbs. Both feel better today so I will do an easier ride this weekend. I need to find the balance of training without further hurting myself.


I've also been in contact with my physical therapist. She seems to think that I'm doing the right things. I have done most if not all of the things most of you have suggested. I know I need to rest more, but I also want to complete the rides especially since this is a once in a lifetime trip.

enigmaT120

I've fixed both Achilles tendonitis and plantar faciatis (from running) with massage. The plantar facia is easier to reach, but even with the Achilles I've fixed it in one very painful session. I use a hard plastic massager thing and rub it against the tendon, doing as much of it as I can reach. I keep my hand on the other side so the tendon can't move. Eventually all that lumpiness goes away and it quits hurting to rub it. A pair of pliers with ice-insert jaws would be perfect, to give better leverage for squeezing the tendon and rubbing it. As far as I know that tool doesn't exist.

I'm not kidding about how painful this is, but it works. I do stretch quite a bit, heel drops off curbs or putting the ball of my foot up against a pole and stretching that way. I also hunker (heels on the ground) rather than sit on the ground or bend over to do something at ground level. I cut back my running to no more than 2 days per week (15 miles or so) and bike more for cardio. So far no injuries at all from bicycling though when I trained for my triathlon on a borrowed road bike with clip-less pedals that made my feet hurt. I just have platform pedals on my bikes.