Achilles tendon inflammation

[Hobbit]

So I had this strange pain originating at half distance between inner ankle and achilles tendon and ascending towards the calf. Sharp pain when going upstairs or else when squatting whilst carrying something heavy (e.g. fire wood). No pain otherwise. Slight swelling. I stopped running a week ago and went to see a doctor yesterday, who diagnosed an inflammation of the achilles tendon. His treatment of choice was sticking acupuncture needles in and around my calf and he recommended the use of icepacks.
Well, my doctor is a real acupuncture wizard (the pain is completely gone!), but he is not a runner and even less a barefoot runner.
So I would like to ask the running docs on this board: what can I do to prevent this kind of problem in the future? Are there any exercises I could do to strengthen the achilles tendon? Is it a running form problem? Or just a symptom of too much too soon?

A big thank you for any help!!

 

[Backfixer]

Unfortunately, by just hearing about pain, I have little to work with. Usually if someone gets pain in the achillies, it means the calf is tight and with that I would suspect that there is tightness behind the knee, likely adhesion in the popliteal fossae (area behind the knee) and there is likely a glut issue as well.

This all goes along with over and under striding and you are likely hitting harder on the right side. This will be exacerbated by a weak core, cross patterning in the upper body (which will hike the hip up and screw up your walk and run shod or not).

Without knowing more, I think your doctor needs to take a second look at you, not just your calf. You can learn alot by taking your phone and running on a treadmill for about a minute. Show it to your doctor. If he understands runners, both you and he will see what is going on much better than just looking at the calf.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

What do you do with your phone while on the treadmill?

 

[Backfixer]

have someone video you from the side and the back so your dock can evaluate objectively

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Oh, I guess I'm an old timer and don't use my phone for video like all you iPhone and iPad groupies. Hee. I still use my camcorder. Ha! I need to get me one of those.

 

[Hobbit]

Thank you Dr. Charschan for your answer!
So for you it's likely a form issue: Over or under striding combined with a weak core. Well that gives me something I can work upon!

As for starring in a treadmill video clip, well how shall I put it? Let's say it would be difficult to find a treadmill around my village. I suppose I could make a voyage into town, visit a sports shop and pretend to be wishing to buy a treadmill, then have someone filming me whilst trying it out. But I doubt that would give an adequate picture of my usual running form: the couple of times I tried running on this kind of device were kind of disastrous: severely over striding (unconsciously trying to catch the belt), over crossing (to avoid tripping on the sides), horribly contracted (anxious not to fall off) and of course wearing shoes. Normally I don't run like that!