Running With Achilles Tendonitis

In this video, Maryke explains why your Achilles hurts when you run, how you can adapt your running to allow your Achilles to recover, how you can monitor your symptoms to help you judge your sessions, and how you may be able to complete a race despite your Achilles pain.

👉 To avoid overtraining, keep track of your running mileage with a Garmin GPS watch:

📽️ Another video you may find useful:

📚Chapters in this video:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:06 Quick recap - What is Achilles tendonitis/tendinopathy?
00:02:40 How to interpret your Achilles tendonitis symptoms
00:05:41 Why ignoring Achilles pain and stiffness is not a good idea
00:06:48 Adapting your running to allow tendon healing
00:08:32 Be guided by changes in your symptoms
00:12:34 Tips for running a race despite Achilles pain

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🖥️Some of the software we use to run our online physiotherapy practice:

👉 Some links here are to places where you can buy something relevant. If you do, we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

References:
Cook J, Docking S. “Rehabilitation will increase the ‘capacity’ of your …insert musculoskeletal tissue here….” Defining ‘tissue capacity’: a core concept for clinicians. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49(23):1484-85. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2015-094849

Hanlon, Shawn L., Ryan T. Pohlig, and Karin Grävare Silbernagel. "Beyond the diagnosis: Using patient characteristics and domains of tendon health to identify latent subgroups of Achilles tendinopathy." Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 51.9 (2021): 440-448.

Longo UG, Ronga M, Maffulli N. Achilles tendinopathy. Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Review 2018;26(1):16-30.

[TreatMyAchilles]

👉 To avoid overtraining, keep track of your running mileage with a Garmin GPS watch:
If you buy anything via these links, we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

[Grant-kywq]

I'm compelled to write my first YouTube comment ever, because this is simply one of the best, most organized, and informationally rich health advice recordings, that clearly evolved from client bases pain and recovery experience.. It get right the big question and hits all of the pain points, offering warning flags to monitor, potential solutions, and the confidence to get through it, while minimizing additional training risk. Thank you for this tremendous piece of work. And, Happy Running!

[DR-csdl]

This is a really great video, by far the best I’ve seen for Achilles injury’s, I was running 40k weeks over the summer then in September started a sub-18 minute 5k training program which was 70k a week with 2 harder intensity workouts, I did this with no strength training and by the end of October started to feel a discomfort in my left Achilles that was recurring, probably a 2/3 out of 10 pain wise, I took last week easy and started to do strength exercises and now this week I’m slowly getting back into it, so this video is exactly what I need in knowing what intensity to go for, I did a easy 10k yesterday and woken up today with no stiffness or discomfort so I know I’m safe for another easy 10k this morning, thank

[GuyTheNaked]

Explaining what the pain and stiffness mean was awesome to learn! Thank you for the video! 😊

[MrSmid]

3 years I stopped for, just cycled.

I’m finally confident enough to start again. Hopefully all goes well. I’m sticking to flat routes.

My wife used to massage the lump on my tendon, wow, AGONY. Lumps gone now.

[Dee-zrhe]

this video is amazing i’ve been struggling with this for 3+ years after jus rolling my ankle and not letting it heal but watching this video helps so much

[valumphress]

This channel and the “Treat My Achilles” team are exceptional. They are especially expert in diagnosing and treating runners and their Achille’s problems. In addition to applying what I learned from these videos, I have received their online treatment. Their treatment has helped me significantly and I am sure I would not be running injury free if not for their help.

[patrickfeige]

Thank you so much for your videos, they’ve been incredibly helpful! I’ve suffered from Achilles pain training for a marathon from ramping up the mileage too quickly.

[ParanoidBishop]

Priceless advice for a newbie (avid) trail runner, thank you.

[blackcountrysmoggie]

Great advice again! The part about pain not being a true indicator of damage was especially interesting. I must admit, when I first pulled back on my running to recover from tendonitis I assumed my body would lose its fitness immediately. However, after a few months of tendon strength training and cross training with bike and swim (and by not letting the diet slip too much!) I am pleasantly surprised to find I can now reincorporate 2-3 shorter runs into my week without any real ill affect on my tendons. It's still mentally difficult to not just start doing 10k twice a day again, but that's likely what caused my issues to begin with, so I will keep telling myself to be good and concentrate on long term benefits!

[cmdreltonpoole]

Thank you for this video. It had everything I needed to supplement my visits to the physio.

I just wish I hadn't overtrained in the first place...

[Eramirez]

I needed to hear this. Im starting to feel better, but i need to concentrate on my workout/ rehab program before i start running.

[MochiChuru]

Hi there, I really appreciate there’s a channel dedicated to Achilles tendon issues. I’ve been suffering from it the last 6 months after getting back into soccer after sitting out during Covid. Your site is very informative and resourceful. Thank you for offering detail views and explanations from both clinicians and patients points of view. Unbiased, fact based, and most of all helpful.

[jeffloflin]

3 yrs and 27 trail races 5k to 30 k. What to do after a run workout to ease pain, shorten recovery. Love your videos and you are such a blessing. Thanks

[Ad_Astra_JE]

Super useful information, so well presented. Thank you!

[tdeb]

Thanks for the video! I am ten weeks ago from my aspired sub 3 marathon on a flat course, but since last week an achilles tendon injury has reared its ugly head (i had it four years ago too, i only recovered after seeing a fysiotherapist and starting exercises). I have probably overdone the speed work sessions, unfortunately.
I will see a fysiotherapist tomorrow to assess the severity of the injury. Finished a long run of 13 miles (instead of the scheduled 18 miles) at very low speed yesterday. Your advice helped me, because the pain i experienced is undoubtably present (as well as the stiffness), but bearable (at least, for now..).
This video gives me hope - two or three short easy runs per week on soft ground might keep the injury under control. But one has to stay realistic, of course.

[pjcalder]

Thank you so much for this video, especially the last section!

[totallyraw]

When I'm in South Africa, I enjoy running fast on the grass in the park 😁👍

[MrGoodFeelsGaming]

I found the elliptical to be very useful

[Trewq]

Boy did I wish I watch this when I started running. Decided to go from never running to 20 miles a week like a complete idiot. Then decided to "power" through the pain for a month. Needless to say, got diagnosed with achilles tendonitis after pain was unbearable.

I'm about to end my 2 month break from running, and try again in three days! THIS TIME, I'm going way slower and supplementing biking with my running haha.