NSMB doctors...achilles pain..help!

So after the last leg of my tour I had pain in the achilles area of my right foot. There's also some swelling and redness around the area. It also feels a little dry and when I stretch my ankle up and down it feels almost "dry" and I can feel the tendon rubbing and dragging on everything around it.

I saw a local doctor 2 days ago and he told me I'd just been pushing myself too hard(400 km's in 3 days he may be right) and prescribd me 3 days of no cycling and some anti inflamatory cream to massage into the area twice a day.

Since then I've just been resting but I really want to get back on the road. Tomorrow I want to continue but I'm a little freaked about doing permanent damage. If it was any other part of my body I wouldn't so concerned. It feels better now 2 days later but still not normal.

What do you guys think? Get a second opinion? HTFU? Trust the first doc and ride tomorrow and see what happens?

Okay,

Have you iced the injured area?

No pain on heel or on the sole of your foot?

Don't want to go to quick. While it may feel better it will still be weak. One thing to plane for when you do start riding again is to seriously slash the daily mileage plan to allow more time to rest for a while.

Taking ibu will decrease the swelling.

cortisone

rinse and repeat.

Cortisone is what the doc gave me. I haven't iced it due to lack of a convenient ice source, used a bottle of cold beer for a while yesterday. No pain or redness anywhere else on my foot. been taking ibu
Today is my 3rd day of no cycling so tomorrow I'm planning to continue to the next city. Only 58kms so we'll see how it goes.

Rest is usually the only cure and it usually takes some time.

You could try putting something in the heel of your shoe so as to take stress off of the tendon. Or bandage your ankle and lower leg to help relieve the stress.

I didn't know cyclists could get get problems with the Achilles. I guess that's what happens when you stop wearing high heels. :P

DO NOT HARDEN THE FUCK UP.

Your trip is over, or postponed for a while. I went the HTFU route a couple years ago and ended up tearing it. 6 months of physio, next to no cardio exercise and 15 lbs later I was wishing I had just taken it easy.

Now that being said does it hurt above your heel bone or on your heel bone? If it hurts on the bone than it could be an inf inflamed bursa, which its a big deal.

I just knew fixie single speeds were bad for your health.

Kn.

I have had a running related strained achilles from training for xc skiing by bounding up and down on the trails with poles ,my doc prescribed 6 weeks of no running ,600 mg of IBU for the inflammmation which fixed me up

Skiing both Tele and xc was ok that season but the next year I developed PF which you definatley don't want and I didnt run for over a year from that injury

BTW I have flat feet …flatter than piss on a plate

My diagnosis - bike fit issue … normally not a big deal, but now exacerbated by repetitive strain from long hours on the bike. I've had it before (prolly nowhere near as bad as you). Take some rest to let it heal and try lowering your seat very slightly. Also do some regular achillies tendon stretches (but not while its still hurting).

http://www.multiplesclerosisconnect.com/health-center/documents/ug2997?section=ug2997-sec

I had very similar symptoms after my first week back on the road bike. Ice and rest fixed me up. If you're riding you may want to adjust your cleats and saddle position to reduce the stretch and strain on your achilles. My guess is that "on your toes" would be the wrong way to go but I'll wait for a Physio MD to chime in.

i agree with the not hardening the fuck up

but the next year I developed PF which you definatley don't want and I didnt run for over a year from that injury

Ah PF. Way more common then people realize.

just for the record, we all know there are no doctors on nsmb, right?

Ah PF. Way more common then people realize.

fixed it with motion control shoes …which fly in the face of the current minimalist craze

How many injuries do you think will result from no-shoe running ?

I got an MD bud who doesnt run nowdays but ran barefoot back in the 70's or 80's in med school ,he laughed when I told him it was all the rage nowdays so I asked what his perspective is from an injury standpoint?

He said go at it slow ,keep the milage low … listen to your body