Achilles tendon

Meh.

Just wondering whether or not the cause of this might have been me learning to skid fairly recently- on 49/15.

Like anyone new to skidding I did it rather a lot, and I pull up with my right foot after moving my weight forward.

So thinking about what Prime Heretic said it might be that this caused a rotating twisting action with a fair amount of energy behind it as I was skidding a high gear?
Sounds very plausible to me, when i was learning to skid a few weeks back i got a bit of a saw calf and noticed my shoes (spds) were reaching maximum float, i find that i get a fair bit of stress put on my tendon when pulling up with that foot. . .

Cortisone injections and HTFU?
steroid injections are contraindicated because of the danger of inmuscular injection and therefore can lead to the rupture of tendon!

Just woke up this morning and my left achillies tendon is painful and tender to the touch - Oddly enough it was fine before going to sleep. I've recently adjusted my cleats to get rid of knee issues so that might have had an effect? It's quite tight and a little bit painful to walk on.

Stop cycling immediately to prevent further damage until I can get to a doctor or HTFU?

I have a light kind of tingling/burning sensation where my right achilles meets my heel.

When I raise my foot/point my toes up, it intensifies. If I place my heel on the floor and stretch further there is an intense burning sensation.

It's not a kind of pain I've felt before.

This developed during my fixed tour of France, possibly after a hilly day crossing into Spain. I thought it would pass, if anything it seems it may be worsening.

Any ideas?

gunshot wound?

snake bite?

leprosy.

etc

Well I did take a pop shot at a leporous adder that was coiled up in the bottom of my sleeping bag and surpised me...

hmmm.

Insoles helped me; your symptoms sound a bit different. See physio; if it was torn there would be no pain.

If you want to continue riding/racing and you have explored most conventional avenues, you could always consider midfoot cleat positioning- some down sides:

• you will be out of step with the rest of the cycling crowd
  
• you will need shoes specially modified
  
• you will need to be on speedplay pedals
  
• you will have substantial foot overlap of the front wheel
  
• you will need to reposition your whole body on the bike- ass down and fwd, hands down and fwd probably
  
  

upsides:

• you will probably be able to ride your bike with few or no Achilles and calf problems
  

ass down and fwd, hands down and fwd probably

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sc_nQiuDN0"]2-Live
Crew, "Face down ass up" - YouTube[/ame]

that's the way we like to..... ride?

If you want to continue riding/racing and you have explored most conventional avenues, you could always consider midfoot cleat positioning- some down sides:

• you will be out of step with the rest of the cycling crowd
  
• you will need shoes specially modified
  
• you will need to be on speedplay pedals
  
• you will have substantial foot overlap of the front wheel
  
• you will need to reposition your whole body on the bike- ass down and fwd, hands down and fwd probably
  
  

upsides:

• you will probably be able to ride your bike with few or no Achilles and calf problems
  
  

What I have done for now is fit my platforms and Restraps, and lowered my saddle a little. Thus allowing me to pedal mid foot as well as move my foot around. The "hot" pain/sensation seems to be lessening so I'm hoping steering clear of my Sidis and taking it steady for a few weeks will see me back to normal. If not I'll see my GP who is a fell runner and leg specialist.

Thanks for the advice, I'm hoping that I don't have to go mid-foot full time, how will I ever bar spin!? (:

I've been getting the same thing recently.
Tendonitis.

I have moved my cleats back and we'll see if that fixes it.

I'd get it checked out and take it easy. I've snapped my Achilles tendon and have never ever felt pain like it before. Some people are more suceptable to snapping them than others without knowing it, so you could have ruptured it or strained it. Just rest and if youve got understanding girlfriend (or boyfriend) get them to massage it with some movelat or oils.

From the research I have done, I suspect this is what I'm suffering from...

Inflamation caused by spending long days in tight shoes, whilst brakelessly touring France for 2 and a half weeks. We set out to prove it could be done, and now I'm left with the aftermath.

Having read about treatment for the condition I believe avoiding the sidis, taking it steady and consuming some ibuprofen should help, if not, I will seek professional advice.

No achilles problems after the Herne Bay ride.
Every other part of me hurts like hell, but moving the cleats back seems to have had a beneficial effect.

480 miles in 24 hours, midfoot, 0 calf problems, 0 Achilles problems. #win

But TM, have you rested it, iced it properly after your ride? Time off the bike can work wonders.

Time off bike is difficult, it's pretty much my sole means of transport at the minute. I have been taking it pretty easy though.

Just sat icing my heel now, I have found a hot and a cold "pack" in a draw, and was wondering, would heat be of any benefit to something like this or should I stick to the cool?

I'd get any ankle problems looked at sharpish. Then get a second opinion.

After a long misdiagnosis during which I was practically disabled it turned out I had Haglunds Syndrome.

Start the Steve Wright In The Afternoon Music.

I'd always had sore feet and back problems, so a podiatrist made custom inserts (which would have cost a mint but she was a friend of my girlfriend of the time) which were amazing, they helped my posture, back problems and sore feet went away. But you're not supposed to run in them.
Anyway, after wearing them for a year or two one day I had to run in them (long story), and a few minutes later I was in serious difficulties, a lot of pain in my ankles.
Went to St. John's & elizabeth's foot clinic, they reckoned I'd bruised my tendons on the inserts and that I just needed some physio to firm them up, no x-ray needed. I should have insisted on an x-ray.
If I did the exercises the physio gave me and kept my tendons stretched out and warm I could just about get a day's work in before the pain got too much, but every other aspect of my life suffered. I persevered with the exercises but they said it would take about 18 months. After 18 months I stopped the exercises and two days later I could barely walk.
Went to another foot surgeon (all this at private rates, NHS had a loooong waiting list), he x-rayed and said "yeah you've got Haglunds". Essentially little spurs of bone grow out of the back of your heel and dig into your Achilles tendons. It only happens to women who wear high heels too much and idiots who wear their shoe inserts for too long whether they run in them or not.
So I had an operation which despite being keyhole still necessitated having all of my Achilles tendons detached. Again at private rates. They can't be re-attached, they just have to heal. After another 18 months its not gone perfectly as the left one is still occasionally painful, but I'm much better off than before as I can now walk. Over the course of several years, this has had a knock-on effect on the rest of my legs. My knees used to visibly tremble as I walked down stairs because they were so weak and because my feet can't take repetitive hard impacts I can't run or jog, so gained weight.
About a year ago I took up cycling. My legs and ankles are much stronger generally and the weight is coming off.

So, er, there you go.

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome; in fact it sounds like it.

Whilst the symptoms appear as an achilles tendon injury, it's really reffered pain from irritating the nerve which run down past the tendon across the ankle and into the foot on each down stroke . Caused, in my case by postural problems, I inwardly pronate . Solved, largely by Sherrit's insole, and having a more stable foot on the pedal. This was achieved by moving the saddle forward so the foot twists less.

got bad tendonitis from running recently. eccentric exercises fixed it....

http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/injuryprevention/qt/Achilles-Strengthening.htm

Digging this thread out of the grave... to those that have had achilles pains, did anything in particular seem to help?

Am worried I've got a touch of tendonitis, so have iced it tonght and will stay off the bike tomorrow and maybe wednesday. It kicked off on Sunday when I did the biggest / hardest ride I've done in a long time. Didn't seem anything major at the time but took a couple of painkillers and iced it last night. Rode in to work today and hurts again.. It's OK when I'm walking about, it only gives me gyp when I'm pedalling.

A bit concerned as I'm doing th Dragon Ride on Sunday....

You need to rest it. Doing more, especially a big group ride where you cannot stop and give up is a bad idea.

Then again, its only tendinitis.

Rest it as much as you can. Dose up on something anti-inflammatory. Ice is good, maybe some deep massage with your fingers and careful stretching.