| Subject: | Re: Tendonitis in the Achilles tendon |
| Date: | 08/31/2004 04:20 AM |
| From: | .David.Auker. |
|
I've "ridden through" a visibly swollen Achilles tendon area, complete with tactile and audible "squeaking" (I'm sure you could hear it in a very quiet room...definitely could feel it). My main occurrence of this affliction was during a two-week, 100-200 mile/day tour, so I wasn't exactly babying it. But, what I felt was best was a pedal-stroke with heel-down, so as not to be excessively moving the tendon. I'm certainly no exercise physiologist, but it was my impression that I was actually moving the tendon less in its sheath this way, and it felt a tolerable thing to do! My discomfort mainly came with walking, and who needs to walk when you can ride? :-) (I'm not completely serious there, btw!) We're all built differently...from our physical makeup to its management to our tolerances. If you ride, I would suggest a slightly lower saddle position if you at all perceive its on the high side for keeping your foot relatively flat. I'm sure it's unavoidable that there will be some movement of the tendon, but minimization should be a goal. As they say, "your mileage may vary," and your main cautionary feedback in taking anyone's advice is the amount of pain involved (of course, as cyclists, we love pain, right?). It is such a quandary: to ride or take time off. Both plans, of course, have their merits in varying situations (my fractured pelvis last summer was..."time off")! David ----- Original Message ----- From: "Seth May" <se-@maykids.org> To: "'obra'" <ob-@topica.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 7:13 AM Subject: [OBRA Chat] Tendonitis in the Achilles tendon I thought I'd send this question out to the obra-pedia. Background: When I rode the RSVP (Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party) at the beginning of August, it was rainy and cold the entire 7 hours of riding the first day. I'm not sure if that caused the tendonitis or was just a factor. The second day, my Achilles tendons were quite sore in both legs. After the ride, they really stiffened up and were very sore making it hard to walk, ride, and climb or descend stairs. I started icing on and off, and took about a week off the bike. In a week, my right leg was back to normal, but the tendonitis persisted in my left leg. I've taken substantial time off the bike in the last month hoping that this problem would go away. Currently, even my short, easy, 10 minute commutes to work and back have started aggravating it (it is sore (I can't fully extend my ankle joint), and swells up, sometimes to the point that the tendon feels like its grinding). The pain has started to change from just sore to having sharp pain when I fully extend my ankle. My questions: Have any of you had problems like this before? If so, how did you tackle it? Is it time to call in a doctor? Is it something my GP can take care of, or should I be talking to a specialist of sorts? Recommendations of specialists in the Eugene area? Thanks -- Seth May Technical Consultant Educational and Community Supports University of Oregon (541) 346-2470, (541) 346-5517 (fax) set-@uoregon.edu To respond to the whole group send to ob-@topica.com. To respond to the list manager send to cmur-@obra.org To unsubscribe send to obra-uns-@topica.com |
