I came across an ultra-running website that recommended a visit to Dr. Martyn Speight (a musculoskeletal and sports physician) for Achilles tendon issues. I have to admit to having had some pre-assessment scepticism: I've been through numerous physios and podiatrists in the past along with various orthotic prescriptions without success.
Fortunately Dr. Speight has a particular interest and expertise in this field, being one of those chaps who runs up and down 1-in-25 fells for fun at the weekend.
A very thorough and easily understood assessment shows that apparently I have an Achilles tendinopathy. Fortunately this is a low-grade tendinopathy and so should be something I can recover from.
The almost constant tightness and pain is a result of too many years in the past doing the running but without the strengthening and stretching of the appropriate calf muscles and Achilles tendons. Being inactive over recent years hasn't helped at all.
X-ray scans show a clear degeneration in the tendon areas that seem to hurt the most and, after a little ultrasound work, Dr. Speight gave me some exercises to do to build up the strength of the Achilles tendons. These are based on the Swedish physician Dr. Alfredson's discovery that eccentric strength training of the Achilles tendon using heel-drop exercises saw a significant response rate: simple, but apparently very effective.
So I'm on a three week lay-off from any running at all and instead will be doing 3 x 15 heel drops on each leg, twice a day, seven days a week. After three weeks and assuming no problems I should be progressing to doing these with a 10kg rucksack.
Let's hope this works because I really need to start building some time on my feet!
