achilles problem?

<[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My daughter (12) spent about a month training for a labor day 5k and
then started running cross country with her Middle School team. A few
weeks into the season she complained that the area just above her heel
hurt and both her pediatrician and orthopedic diagnosed it as achilles
tendonitis. She started seeing a physical therapist who noticed that
not only is her range of motion smaller on her problem ankle, the girth
of that leg is noticibly thinner and when asked to go on her tip toes
she can only go half as high on her problem leg as on her other leg.
Does this all seem to fit with an achilles problem? Thanks, Joyce

Yep. The good news is that if she is sensible and does some
rehabilitative exercise, she should see much better response than an adult.

Dave

Quoted message said:

My daughter (12) spent about a month training for a labor day 5k and
then started running cross country with her Middle School team. A few
weeks into the season she complained that the area just above her heel
hurt and both her pediatrician and orthopedic diagnosed it as achilles
tendonitis. She started seeing a physical therapist who noticed that
not only is her range of motion smaller on her problem ankle, the girth
of that leg is noticibly thinner and when asked to go on her tip toes
she can only go half as high on her problem leg as on her other leg.
Does this all seem to fit with an achilles problem? Thanks, Joyce

She is pregnant.

TheBillRodgers said:

Quoted message said:

My daughter (12) spent about a month training for a labor day 5k and
then started running cross country with her Middle School team. A few
weeks into the season she complained that the area just above her heel
hurt and both her pediatrician and orthopedic diagnosed it as achilles
tendonitis. She started seeing a physical therapist who noticed that
not only is her range of motion smaller on her problem ankle, the girth
of that leg is noticibly thinner and when asked to go on her tip toes
she can only go half as high on her problem leg as on her other leg.
Does this all seem to fit with an achilles problem? Thanks, Joyce

She is pregnant.

http://users.rcn.com/bighominid/AlienAsshole.jpg

In article <[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

My daughter (12) spent about a month training for a labor day 5k and
then started running cross country with her Middle School team. A few
weeks into the season she complained that the area just above her heel
hurt and both her pediatrician and orthopedic diagnosed it as achilles
tendonitis. She started seeing a physical therapist who noticed that
not only is her range of motion smaller on her problem ankle, the girth
of that leg is noticibly thinner and when asked to go on her tip toes
she can only go half as high on her problem leg as on her other leg.
Does this all seem to fit with an achilles problem? Thanks, Joyce

From a previous post:

Knowing About & Caring for Your Friend, The Achilles Tendon

The irritation of the Achilles Tendon is a symptom that something else is
letting go. More often than not, it's the calf muscle that needs some
loving attention.

Knowing About & Caring for Your Friend, The Achilles Tendon
c.2000 Austin "Ozzie" Gontang, Ph.D.

Asensenig wrote:

I'm training for the Country Music Marathon in Nashville on April 29th
and have developed a case of "mild" achilles tendonitis in my right leg.
The pain is a dull ache right behind the ankle/just above the heel. My
training for the marathon has been on schedule with long runs every
other weeked, (the last one 20 miles) one interval session or tempo run
per week, etc. (I'm a 47 year old male, 6 feet, 200lbs, wear Gel Kayano's
with orthotics. This is my fifth marathon. I average about 35 miles a
week
and stretch before and after each run.)

Quoted message said:

My questions is, how can I nurse this achilles tendon along for the next
six
weeks and still do what is necessary for the race? Any help, whether from
personal experience with a similar problem or knowledge of this type of
injury would be greatly appreciated. Thanks is advance for your response.

Asensenig,

I'd look to the calves be it soleus or the gastrocs to find the trigger
point(s) where the calf is holding and causing the semi-contraction of
the
calf so that the part of the calf that can't let go transmits the
tension to
the Achilles.

The other thing I'd look to, is to see, if the shins on the right leg are
tight which would mean that the right calf has to work against a
semi-contracted antagonist muscle. So even if you loosen up the right
calf
the right shin is still causing the problem for the right calf.

Then again since as you and I have talked about off and on, the
tightness in
the left quad or hamstring might be affecting the planting of the right
foot
which results in the calf problem being a result of the left leg...or
tightness in the right illiopsoas.

I went through the same diagnosis with my left calf early in '99. Ended
up
it was the fact that I was carrying an overweight rip stop nylon
briefcase
in my left hand. The excess weight tightened up my left shoulder. I also
realized that when I was sitting at the computer, the chair I used which
has
arms, I would lean on my left elbow. The left elbow callous was the first
dead giveaway. Looking in the mirror when going for my monthly body work
session showed the lean to the left of my whole upper body.

Some further thoughts:

1. Is the soleus more slow than fast twitch? In my mind slow twitch
muscles
as mentioned are stabilizer or postural muscles. My reason for thinking
that
soleus is more fast twitch???

2.I want the soleus to be strong and elongated. The problem often is
that it
is strong and semicontracted because of a portion of it
bundled/adhesioned
(i.e. the fascia around a section is holding and not allowing that
portion
of the soleus to go through its range of motion. So when you stretch the
soleus, you stretch the portion that can stretch and not the portion
bundled
up with the adhering fascia...causing the good muscle fibers to
overstretch
and gradually join the bundle that can only partially let go.

3. Remember the Achilles is tendon. Tendon is white and grisly which
means
there is minimal blood flow to that area. One reason tendonitis
(inflammation of the tendon) doesn't heal quickly...lack of adequate
blood
flow...as one sees in red oxygen enriched muscle tissue.

4. Yes on the massage of the soleus once the trauma has subsided

5. One reason for icing muscles is that the cold constricts the vessels
and
then once the cold is stopped rich oxygenated blood flows back in to
flush
the area with its healing nutrients.

6. I have some question in my mind about strengthening the calves...if it
means that they are strong but shortened.

7. There's always the question in my mind about doing the heels off the
step
so that the calves are put under a extreme strain. If the knot in the
muscle
doesn't get stretched the tension is passed along the healthy muscle
fiber
and then onto the minimally blood fed tendons.

8. Also there is what is called the kinetic chain concerning the
movements
we make as various muscles fire in a certain pattern. Putting the calf
under
strain by the heels off the step, the slant boards, etc. might cause more
problems then they solve, if the exerciser is doing the exercise and not
thinking about the way the muscles fire in sequence to create movement.

9. It's not what you know that gets you in trouble. It's what you know
that
just ain't so. If you're not thinking nor paying attention to your
thinking
body which knows how to move when you don't think about it, then you are
creating your own injuries and blaming it on something else.

And finally a web site talking about: It's the Calves Not the Achilles:

Check out http://mindfulness/of1.asp

You'll see how I use a railing to do the rolling from side to side all
the
way up and down the calf. Physical Therapists call it Transverse
Friction...i.e. rubbing across the muscles in the area where it is
knotted.

Remember the inflammation of the Achilles tendons is often caused by the
calves not letting go. That's why I would have some reservations about
the
calf raises. Calf raises would only shorten the calf muscles even more.
We
want elongated and strong, not shortened and strong calf muscles.

Also tightness in the shins can also cause the calves to tighten
unnecessarily. The front shin muscles should be relaxing maximally when
the
calf is contracting. . If the shin muscles can relax fully the calves
have
to work against muscles that cannot fully relax. When the shins are tight
the calves have to work against a semi-contracted muscle.

Some related articles that might be of further interest

Soak Your Legs After Long Runs In Cold/Frigid Water

Posture: Its effect on Quads, Hams, Gluts And Some Things To Do About It

--
Ozzie Gontang
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/rec/rec.running.html
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975

Mindful Running http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp