How to deal with Achilles Tendon soreness

[Vagabond]

Back to the question;

Experiences from my sporting days, and what I have seen at the top level dance scene the problem often occurs because we do not take enough time to warm-up and cool-down.  Most of the time I see dancers do their stretches either wrong or not intense enough. this is particular prevalent at the lower levels.

Get your muscles and tendons in shape before you do a single step on the floor

[waltzelf]

Back to the question;

Experiences from my sporting days, and what I have seen at the top level dance scene the problem often occurs because we do not take enough time to warm-up and cool-down.  Most of the time I see dancers do their stretches either wrong or not intense enough. this is particular prevalent in the lower levels.

Get your muscles and tendons in shape before you do a single step on the floor

The beauty of having a qualified personal trainer as a dance partner is that I do do my stretches correctly. Unfortunately, I am also wary of telling her I'm injured as it might worry her. Having dated a ballet dancer in the past I know what dangers a sore archilles can lead to.

[Vagabond]

The beauty of having a qualified personal trainer as a dance partner is that I do do my stretches correctly. Unfortunately, I am also wary of telling her I'm injured as it might worry her. Having dated a ballet dancer in the past I know what dangers a sore archilles can lead tor

The problem isn't what you do now, but what you didn't do in the past

[SwingWaltz]

The beauty of having a qualified personal trainer as a dance partner is that I do do my stretches correctly. Unfortunately, I am also wary of telling her I'm injured as it might worry her. Having dated a ballet dancer in the past I know what dangers a sore archilles can lead to.

What does it lead to?

[Vagabond]

The beauty of having a qualified personal trainer as a dance partner is that I do do my stretches correctly. Unfortunately, I am also wary of telling her I'm injured as it might worry her. Having dated a ballet dancer in the past I know what dangers a sore archilles can lead to.

What does it lead to?

The doctor?

[waltzelf]

The beauty of having a qualified personal trainer as a dance partner is that I do do my stretches correctly. Unfortunately, I am also wary of telling her I'm injured as it might worry her. Having dated a ballet dancer in the past I know what dangers a sore archilles can lead to.

What does it lead to?

It snaps and then you're in rehab for a year before you can dance again.

The problem isn't what you do now, but what you didn't do in the past

I've always been good with stretching - I had a personal trainer as a tennis player before I even started dancing.



I know what's causing it - it's the quantity of dancing I'm doing. That said, it's been better the last week or so anyway.

[elisedance]

getting back to tendons.  I feel as if the tendon is trying to heal but that use is irritating it.  Here's my take:

The torn fibers that make up the tendon start to reconnect but they do so to the nearest end or available fiber - this results in some good links and also a lot of misconnections with respect to length and also flexibility.  When you use the tendon you break the wrong connections and retain the good ones.  However both are fragile - so if you put too much strain on it you loose the good and the bad.

My strategy now is to provide the tendon with a lot of gentle stretches - the hope being that this will break the bad links without hurting the good ones.  I think I can then use the foot because the good links will now not be disconnected by stress from the bad ones.

So thats the theory - LOTS Of gentle stretches thorughout the day.  I'll let you know how it goes!

[Medira]

getting back to tendons.  I feel as if the tendon is trying to heal but that use is irritating it.  Here's my take:

The torn fibers that make up the tendon start to reconnect but they do so to the nearest end or available fiber - this results in some good links and also a lot of misconnections with respect to length and also flexibility.  When you use the tendon you break the wrong connections and retain the good ones.  However both are fragile - so if you put too much strain on it you loose the good and the bad.

My strategy now is to provide the tendon with a lot of gentle stretches - the hope being that this will break the bad links without hurting the good ones.  I think I can then use the foot because the good links will now not be disconnected by stress from the bad ones.

So thats the theory - LOTS Of gentle stretches thorughout the day.  I'll let you know how it goes!

If I can make a suggestion...  Find a racquetball or tennis ball (I found that racquetballs worked better for me) and roll it around on the floor with your foot.  Increase the pressure that you exert, then decrease.  It's something simple and mindless that you can do to work the tendon.  I used it for strengthening my ankle after a sprain.

[elisedance]

nice idea - of course I would get carried away, try to ballance on the ball, slip twist an ankle and break my cocckix and be in agony for 5 months.

sorry, not in a positive mood tonight... don't know why...

[Medira]

That's alright, it happens.  Just ride it out...you'll get past it.

[Vagabond]

Whilst shopping, behind a shopping cart as support, do gentle ankle raise, works for me

[QPO]

or dropping your feet of a step......stretching them down and up.

[elisedance]

yup - the key is to be gentle I think...
oddly, after I thought I strained it again yesterday it feels somewhat better this morning.  Maybe it just needed a good foxtrot....

[Vagabond]

Maybe it just needed a good foxtrot....

amongst one of life pleasures

[elisedance]

for me its up there in a rarified few alternatives...

I called around and after being told that waiting times were 2-3 weeks happened on a local clinic where they had an afternoon cancellation!  so got to see a sports med doc - she basically agreed with a small tear.  I'm going to get ultrasound next week.  The funniest thing of all though is that the clinic is about 5 miles from downtown toronto - but about 2 blocks from the studio where I take lessons from pro - and its at my scheduled time!  All I have to do is delay the lesson by 45 minutes and voila!

How did they do that?