UKC

I have been been living with achilles tendinopathy for 8 weeks now, originally brought on after I did a mountain marathon. Been seeing the physio and resting it (as much as possible) and I am doing strengthening and stretching exercises for the achilles. However I still cant climb on it, just wondering if any other climbers have had this injury,when were you back climbing? any tips?

Cheers. Cameron

In reply to cameronwood:
Similar problem and the stretching etc has made it go away after about 4 weeks but it was never bad enough to stop me climbing.

Did you discuss your shoes with your physio? I think a large part of my problem was caused by wearing flat soled deck shoes. I've stopped wearing them.

In reply to cameronwood:

Hey, I struggled with this for a while recently. It sounds like you're doing the right things, so I don't have much to add.

I think I decided it was a problem mid-August, went to see a physio, stopped climbing and running entirely. I was doing plenty of stretching and eccentric calf lowering (presumably this is what the physio has recommended to you?). It was pretty tedious, at least half an hour every morning and evening.

I started climbing again after three weeks because I had a trip to Lundy planned and booked. This probaby wasn't a great idea, as it was quite painful on some of the routes, and especially walking around with a 20kg pack on! However, it didn't seem any worse when I got back than when I left so I decided it was ok to start climbing normally. I noticed (prompted by advice from somebody else on this forum) that one of my pairs of climbing shoes was a lot more painful to wear than the others, so I stopped using them.

Now, three months later, it's not giving me any pain and I'm about to start running again, building up very gently. I went out on Sunday, 6km, easy pace. It was a bit sore in the evening, but fine again by the next morning. My inclination is that this pain was a positive sign of strengthening, rather than damage, but I'm going to go even more gently next time...

Not sure how much this will help, it's all very personal. To keep my sanity for those 3 weeks off climbing and running I hit the fingerboard pretty hard and started swimming again for cardio.

In reply to Postmanpat:
Thanks for your comment, discussed shoes with phyiso and he advised to keep the slight heal lifts that I already had in my shoes in.

In reply to Nick Russell:
Cheers for advice, yes eccentric calf lowering is what the physio advised. Hopefully you will be injury free from now on!

In reply to cameronwood: when I was tramping (hiking) in Newzeland a few years ago I damaged my achilles tendon and it took about 3 months to recover, Im pretty sure I had torn it at its attchment point to the heel bone. I couldnt even wear a shoe properly for a few weeks I had to have the back of the shoe down completely. Could be something similar.
Time heals all wounds, unless you loose an arm or something.
All the best

In reply to cameronwood:
Hi Cameron.
People that I've treated with the eccentric strengthening regime for tendonopathy have all had good results . It's a long job, but some report it clearing up overnight after 3 months. Follow the regime and advice to the letter and hope for the best

In reply to cameronwood: ....overnight after 3 months.....
Is that nights in the arctic circle?

In reply to owena:

No, it means three months of rest/strengthening with little apparent change... then wake up the next day and it feels fine. I read various reports of that when I was having problems with it and it's actually pretty much what happened to me.

In reply to owena:
No. It's overnight after 3 months approx.
I.e 'after 90 days of the same symptoms, it went overnight'

In reply to cameronwood: I had this a while ago, I got over it with physio (the way I saw it, no point whinging about NHS physio referral problems and waiting times, I found a good physio and paid for it myself), and with acupuncture.

In reply to cameronwood: I injured both my Achilles doing too much hill-running, possibly exacerbated by limbo dancing a short time later at a New Year's Eve party (!).

as a result my right Achilles bugged me for well over six months.

The things that helped me most were the eccentric calf raises and self massage of my calf, but it was a long and frustrating rehabilitation so don't try to take any shortcuts or come back too soon..

Re climbing, cutting a 'u' shape into the rear of my climbing shoes really helped stop them pressing on my Achilles...

hope this helps

In reply to cameronwood:
Thanks all for advice, Hopefully it wont be too much longer until i'm back to full health!