i2runner

Running with Achilles Tendinitis

Last week Tuesday, after a day’s rest from the 15mile long-run, I ran an easy 3miler (4.8Kms) and felt OK for the rest of the day until late afternoon – my Achilles tendon began to feel sore that I could barely walk. I could walk albeit very slowly and painfully that I couldn’t hide it in my office. I went to my company’s clinic and the nurse gave me a hot compress for 30minutes which relieved the pain temporarily. With only 5 weeks to go to complete my marathon program (Hal-Higdon) mileage build-up, it was an even more painful feeling inside to even think of stopping running for more than a day.

So I searched Google to find some answers, only to find out that tendinitis is one of the injuries that takes a long time to heal. Bad news. I then searched at runnersworld.com, and found their taping solution. They recommend using the Kinesio Tex Tape, which claims to heat and promote blood flow that should aid in healing. However I didn’t have time to search for this kind of tape so I just bought a transparent duct tape which is really strong. I then taped it across my Achilles tendon, from my heel to my calf muscle. I then ran 7miles on Wednesday. Felt great, it worked! No pain at all! So I kept wearing it even at the office to let me walk normally.

I think it works by limiting the range of stretching motion of the Achilles tendon, to prevent it from over-stretching while walking or running uphill. If needed, it the tape would pull the calf muscle to make it stretch instead of the Achilles tendon. Normally when running, it is the calf muscle that absorbs the shock, the Achilles tendon should be like a strong string that connect the calf muscle to the heel. During mileage build-ups, we train our legs – all parts of it, to be stronger and handle the distance. Unfortunately, some parts of the legs, like the tendon and other connective tissues, take a longer time to train and strengthen as compared with our muscles. That’s why they have this 10% rule – I think it should even be lower.

In summary, I think when I use the tape, it seems to replace the function of the Achilles tendon, allowing it to rest and recover. I think it’s a great solution. Using this tape, I was able to run my longest run of my life as of this writing – 16miles. So it really works. If I remove the tape and run, I could still feel some pain so it’s not 100% well yet, but the tape is helping me to keep on running, hopefully to finish the marathon.