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
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
If indeed the problem is plantar fasciitis, there are many possible solutions. Personally, I've been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis (quite severe), from a combination of running and marching while in the Army (I'm sure what I wore on my feet had to do with the activities). I've survived quite will with this, over the past 15+ years.
At any rate, the advice to stop running is contrary to what I was told by my podiatrist last year. They gave me charts with some great stretches, and eventually gave me a brace that I wear when I'm sitting down to watch TV (supposed to wear 4 hrs/day, but I think I avg 1-2 hrs/day). The brace helped me quite a bit, and I've upped my running frequency + distance substiantially as a result. Putting tape around your foot, icing, and most importantly stretching can all help.
For swimming, I do own a pair of zoomers. I wear them maybe once every 2 weeks, at most (I can't even remember when I've worn them last). Since I've seen Ande's threads here on kicking, I've tried (fairly successfully) to wean myself off of any fins. When I did wear fins more regularly, I'd sometimes get cramps and/or blisters. When you have some time, you may want to explore some of Ande's threads for more info.
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
If indeed the problem is plantar fasciitis, there are many possible solutions. Personally, I've been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis (quite severe), from a combination of running and marching while in the Army (I'm sure what I wore on my feet had to do with the activities). I've survived quite will with this, over the past 15+ years.
At any rate, the advice to stop running is contrary to what I was told by my podiatrist last year. They gave me charts with some great stretches, and eventually gave me a brace that I wear when I'm sitting down to watch TV (supposed to wear 4 hrs/day, but I think I avg 1-2 hrs/day). The brace helped me quite a bit, and I've upped my running frequency + distance substiantially as a result. Putting tape around your foot, icing, and most importantly stretching can all help.
For swimming, I do own a pair of zoomers. I wear them maybe once every 2 weeks, at most (I can't even remember when I've worn them last). Since I've seen Ande's threads here on kicking, I've tried (fairly successfully) to wean myself off of any fins. When I did wear fins more regularly, I'd sometimes get cramps and/or blisters. When you have some time, you may want to explore some of Ande's threads for more info.
