went to the physio Wednesday night for a session of excruciatingly painful deep massage (calf has now overtaken hip for greatest ability to cause pain), some ultrasound (quite the opposite experience - i was lying on my front and even asked him 'what are you up to now?', when i heard the gel lid click open) and a pretty cool stretching exercise.
the basic problem is that i had tight calves before the marathon back in April (which the physio advised at the time would probably even help in the race - so we agreed to leave them tight), and have simply not done enough stretching to compensate for that stiffness and the added strain from the marathon and training since. so my Achilles has simply been taking the strain - and recently, with the increase in speed work - it's decided to protest. can't blame it really.
the massage was torture. he literally had me screaming for pain, like a baby.. i'm man enough to admit it. the stretches though are great - i knew immediately why they were so relevant.. the idea is the 're-teach' you set of calf muscles that they need to function over their full range - and not pull up short then over-stress the Achilles. so simple.
it's my right Achilles, so: find a step; step up on the edge (usual calf-stretch overhang) on you left foot right up onto the toes; join right foot to left and transfer weight to right; from tip-toes lower whole weight through the range of extension until the right foot is hung off the edge of the step - as far as it will go. this you repeat between 20 and 40 times in a row. and do that four or five times a day. so a pretty intense daily load. in this the muscles stretch out and work at the same time. they learn the range over which they'll be asked to function when you run again.
and the Achilles now? it's definitely getting better from the massage and the ultrasound. i should think within a week or 10 days, i'll be confident enough to get out for a light run or two. happy days!
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