What is 'Enter Achilles' about?

What's a fast way to get rid of achilles pain?

• I'm currently a high school xc and track runner and I'm worried about my achilles pain. A few months back I twisted my ankle and heard a pop some where in the back of my foot. This led to a high ankle injury with occasional pain in the ankle. I kept icing my ankle so that I could return for my league finals. I was able to run again and with not much pain, but this was just for a while. 2 weeks after my league finals, I started to develop my achilles pain again. It kept coming and going throughout my run. I decided not to run for a while and I took a couple of weeks off. Then, I came back to running and started running with pain of my achilles. However this time, I can feel some pain in my achilles when I'm doing nothing and when I'm walking. I'm incredibly scared that this could ruin my chances for making varsity next year in cross country and I would do anything to recover from this injury and get back in shape. Do you have any tips for recovering from this injury fast? Are there any exercises that can increase my fitness with this pain? Is it fine to run soon? I'm sure it's not a rupture(I did the test and my foot was moving, but I'm still not sure.

• Answer:

  It's tough to get rid of any injury fast. Your body needs to heel and healing takes time. In terms of making varsity this fall, don't panic! You've got a long time until October when you want to be running fast. As specific advice for your situation, I can offer the following, Stretch The most important thing you can do is be stretching it whenever you get the chance. Find some steps and do this stretch. You can also simulate this stretch against a wall by bringing ankle so that your foot makes as small of an angle with your leg as possible and then putting your foot against the wall and lean into it. If that's unclear I can try and clarify or find a photo. Ice Ice your achilles for about 20 minutes, take off the ice and elevate your foot. Definitely do this after your runs, and ideally a couple other times a day. Rest Both icing and stretching are tools for recovery. Recovery can only happen if you're not constantly aggravating the injury. Luckily in your case, resting doesn't necessarily mean avoiding exercise, it means avoiding exercise that stresses your achilles. Cross training is your best friend and will get you the aerobic fitness you need for the fall. Everyone has different rules of thumb and ways to cross train. My 2 favorites are biking and pool running. The issue with both of these forms of cross training is that they tend not to be quite as strenuous as running. Because of this, make sure your intensity is up while you do these workouts, or do the workouts for a longer period of time. You should feel just as tired after cross training as you do after running. After a week or two of cross training, test out your achilles and see how it feels on a run. If it feels good, gradually mix in more running along with cross training. Another crucial part of this is that you can't stop icing and stretching. Those are both crucial for staying healthy as a competitive runner. Again, don't worry about the fall yet. As long as you cross train diligently and don't injure yourself jumping back in too fast, there's no reason you can't be running great times by October. Happy running!