Hello,
I have been taking swim lessons for about two months now. After twenty-one years of beating up my body running, I decided to give it a break by learning to swim. Well......
I now have pain in both achilles tendons. It is down low, on the back of my heels. I am still running, but only a fraction of the mileage I was doing before. I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how my limited amount of running has caused this heel pain. It all started about two months ago. So, I have put 2 and 2 together ... it must be the swimming, but how?
I am using flippers. Could that be it?
Please help. I'm tired of aching all the time!
Thanks,
Cheryl
Parents
Former Member
Sounds to me like plantar fasciitis. One sure sign is severe heel pain when you first get out of bed in the morning that improves when you move around a little.
You could look up the causes and cures on the Internet but mostly it's from tight calve muscles and inflamation of soft tissue. You could go see a podiatrist and get fitted for orthotics and they may help. However, what worked from me was *no running*. Hard to do, I know, as a fellow long-time runner. After a week or two try running again and if it hurts-- stop right away. Give it more time. Try again. No pain = ok to run.
Make it a point to stretch your calve muscles all the time but not when they are cold--wait until they warm up. Fins might be good for improving ankle flexibility but they keep your calves in a shortened--not stretched position. Give the fins a rest for awhile--at least until your pain goes away. --mjm
Sounds to me like plantar fasciitis. One sure sign is severe heel pain when you first get out of bed in the morning that improves when you move around a little.
You could look up the causes and cures on the Internet but mostly it's from tight calve muscles and inflamation of soft tissue. You could go see a podiatrist and get fitted for orthotics and they may help. However, what worked from me was *no running*. Hard to do, I know, as a fellow long-time runner. After a week or two try running again and if it hurts-- stop right away. Give it more time. Try again. No pain = ok to run.
Make it a point to stretch your calve muscles all the time but not when they are cold--wait until they warm up. Fins might be good for improving ankle flexibility but they keep your calves in a shortened--not stretched position. Give the fins a rest for awhile--at least until your pain goes away. --mjm
