Achilles go's twang
Hi all, I am 36 years old man, and I am new (approx 8 months) tobarefoot/minimalist running. As I set out to take it slow, and had a lot of pain in my calf/achillies tendon area I realised that it would take a lot longer then I originally thought to feel confident in the style. In the past, I have always been very active, playing all kinds of sports: soccer, basketball, netball and martial arts; however I was really never able to enjoy running.Before barefoot running, I always had severe knee pain and lower back pain. When I altered my running style to barefoot/ minimilist/chi running, my calf muscles felt very sore, and so I was would walk when any signs of discomfort became too big.I purchased my first pair of vivo's and over a period of about 6 weeks i tried to run a little to strenthen my calf muscles.I finally got my strenth up and could run 3km easily and enjoyably. It felt good to run 2-4 times per week, and always preceeded a run with some light calve stretching on the side of the step at the front door on the way out.All this came to a crushing end, when last week a friend asked me to help his son with some basketball training (some light one-on-one drills to assist him in the coming week of tryouts) and then 40min into it, I snapped my achillies big time. This happened a week ago so I am post-surgery, in a cast (for 8 weeks), and am required to raise my right foot at all times, even whilst writing this comment/enquiry.I really enjoyed thebarefoot/minimalist running, and i felt energised and strong. For the first time ever, I was able to run and not get any pains in my body. So, I ask myself (and others, if you care to comment) was the transition too much for me?It felt good, I took it slow day by day, week by week, and yet this injury occured, despite it all. My surgeon seems to think that my achillies was like a frayed knot that was bound to snap sooner or later and that playing basketball at this time, took the current injury over the edge. Which now leaves me thinking that if tendons repair themselves relatively quickly in relatively young men (as does all soft tissue) and mine looked like a frayed knot, then what have I done in the last year to create such a problem? I hate to think that the answer might be that l learnt to run differently over this period, and that even though I took it slowly and that it felt natural and positive, it must have been weakening/injurig my achillies all along.ORThere are research articles out there that suggest that damage can also be done to the achillies by wearing shoes with too much cushioning on the heel. It maybe that this was the real issue: years of wearing crap shoes with too much cushioning. And that the barefoot running was contraindicatory at a time when my achilles tendons should be have been repairing themselves. How is one to know when barefoot running might be a contraindication to injury repair? How is one to know the health of their achilles tendons, before going into a running regime that stresses them further?It would be good to know if any one else has had similar experiences.Anyway,I just thought i would share my woes, to allbarefoot/minimalist running enthusiests.Enjoy running and good luck.Thanksmadhu
Hi all, I am 36 years old man, and I am new (approx 8 months) tobarefoot/minimalist running. As I set out to take it slow, and had a lot of pain in my calf/achillies tendon area I realised that it would take a lot longer then I originally thought to feel confident in the style. In the past, I have always been very active, playing all kinds of sports: soccer, basketball, netball and martial arts; however I was really never able to enjoy running.Before barefoot running, I always had severe knee pain and lower back pain. When I altered my running style to barefoot/ minimilist/chi running, my calf muscles felt very sore, and so I was would walk when any signs of discomfort became too big.I purchased my first pair of vivo's and over a period of about 6 weeks i tried to run a little to strenthen my calf muscles.I finally got my strenth up and could run 3km easily and enjoyably. It felt good to run 2-4 times per week, and always preceeded a run with some light calve stretching on the side of the step at the front door on the way out.All this came to a crushing end, when last week a friend asked me to help his son with some basketball training (some light one-on-one drills to assist him in the coming week of tryouts) and then 40min into it, I snapped my achillies big time. This happened a week ago so I am post-surgery, in a cast (for 8 weeks), and am required to raise my right foot at all times, even whilst writing this comment/enquiry.I really enjoyed thebarefoot/minimalist running, and i felt energised and strong. For the first time ever, I was able to run and not get any pains in my body. So, I ask myself (and others, if you care to comment) was the transition too much for me?It felt good, I took it slow day by day, week by week, and yet this injury occured, despite it all. My surgeon seems to think that my achillies was like a frayed knot that was bound to snap sooner or later and that playing basketball at this time, took the current injury over the edge. Which now leaves me thinking that if tendons repair themselves relatively quickly in relatively young men (as does all soft tissue) and mine looked like a frayed knot, then what have I done in the last year to create such a problem? I hate to think that the answer might be that l learnt to run differently over this period, and that even though I took it slowly and that it felt natural and positive, it must have been weakening/injurig my achillies all along.ORThere are research articles out there that suggest that damage can also be done to the achillies by wearing shoes with too much cushioning on the heel. It maybe that this was the real issue: years of wearing crap shoes with too much cushioning. And that the barefoot running was contraindicatory at a time when my achilles tendons should be have been repairing themselves. How is one to know when barefoot running might be a contraindication to injury repair? How is one to know the health of their achilles tendons, before going into a running regime that stresses them further?It would be good to know if any one else has had similar experiences.Anyway,I just thought i would share my woes, to allbarefoot/minimalist running enthusiests.Enjoy running and good luck.Thanksmadhu
