Ankle tendon pains, solved, possibly

Wow, after seemingly an age of running with tendon soreness that would seem to move around from one side of the ankle to the other then sit around the Achilles I think I have worked it out.
Ok wait for it..... It was nothing to do with the ankle at all. It was a back problem.
I have suffered, on an off, from sciatica ever since an injury during weight training around 22 years ago.
The last major bout was 4 years ago. I thought I was fine to start with squats again, if I took care and didn't go heavy. Well I soon found out that squats were a bad exercise for my spine and I had pain for around 3 months. I have not done squats since.
So, I am learning. But as with all things you never make the same mistake twice you just make slight variations.
I have since found that if I do, shoulder workouts or heavy rowing type workouts I can also irritate the sciatic nerve.
That is what I did this time. I was attempting the short heavy 'primal' workouts, these were going fine but my running was suffering from the ankle problems, I had not yet linked the two.
Around a month ago I strained a back muscle and had a few days off work to recover it was at this time I noticed that the ankle pain was linked. I was getting a referred pain, there was nothing wrong with the ankle, the burning sensation was the nerves being squeezed as they exit the spine.
I am now doing gentle spine flexing exercised to release the sciatic nerve and hopefully will be able to run freely again.
Sometimes an injury can open your eyes to the real problem.

Neil
 
Would love to hear how this evolves. I'm guessing, with your theory, if you keep the back stress free you should be able to run without ankle pain. Interested to hear a docs opinion too.
 
I wrote to one of the docs. You should be getting a response soon, but it is Thanksgiving week here.
 
Hi Neil. Great detective work and self-discovery on your injury!

Low back and Achilles issues can often be related. We have to remember that with connective tissue, everything in the human body is integrated. This means (for example) that something higher up in the shoulder definitely can affect the foot down below (and its usually the opposite side).

In your case with the Achilles tendonitis the association with strain on the sciatic nerve absolutely makes sense. The sciatic nerve is the largest / longest nerve in the body running from the lower back / buttocks down to the foot. In fact the terminal branches of any nerve is often where most symptoms present. This is a common presentation I see with my patients. If you begin to stretch / stress or compress the sciatic nerve above altered signals (pain) will present in one or several of the branches below.

In addition to what you are doing there is a technique called "nerve flossing". This can be done with a physical therapist or chiropractor and it will help keep the long nerves in the body free from "stickiness". Good job again on understanding your condition and I hope this is the beginning of the end of your foot pain!
 
Thanks Emily/TJ
I have been looking at video's of the nerve flossing and trying it out, the cat stretch then back in the other direction. I have stopped any exercises that act to compress the spine. I think eventually I may give up gym work all together as it is not helping my fitness it is only injuring me. It is hard to give up as I have been a gym member at various gyms for over 30 years.
The pain is still there but I'm hoping that it will lessen now I have stopped the lifting.

Neil
 
In conjunction to working with a chiropractor maybe try working your core, especially the backside of your core. I like donkey kicks and bridges for this. Learning to move from your core correctly will go far in protecting your spine and the nerves that come off of it.
 
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Maybe I was a bit premature in deciding my back was the cause of the ankle problem. It did seem to tick a few boxes but now my back is back to normal and I still have ankle tendon problems. In fact they have got a little worse in that at first it was my right leg that was sore around the lower area, Achilles. Now I have problems with the left leg, the posterior tibialis. I went on a short 4km run today and have noticed bruising along the tendon, it is a slight discolouration which I believe may be some internal bleeding. It disappears after a day.
My wheels are definitely falling off my wagon at the moment. 2 years ago I was flying high, running 25km in a single run and covering 70km per week. Over the last year my weekly distances have been decreasing to the point where I'm lucky to be running 10km per week which is quite dispiriting. I've run over 7000km over the last 5 years but that is no guarantee that your running cannot go off the rails. Any advice would be welcome.
I'm trying calf strengthening but so far it has made no difference, I use a roller a few times a week to roll out any knots in the muscles.

Regards

Neil
 
Sorry to hear about your problem. You obviously have a gait issue that affects your lower legs and is involving the back, even though it is not now symptomatic. In my book Cheating Mother Nature (something I suggest you consider reading since it is on Amazon.com), I describe that typical gait problem that is often misunderstood.

Most people have the false impression that a lack of symptom (back, sciatic, leg, etc) is ok and symptoms means they have problems. The problem is that quite likely, your core is distorted by tight myofascia and you are over and under striding, even though you are barefoot. This is your body's accomodation to the way you are built. Those who are more asymmetrical are more likely to have problems, whether shod or barefoot.

Some people who have problems shod report marked improvements while running barefoot or minimalist, only to find out that later, they develop other problems while running barefoot as well. Basically, you cannot outrun a problem or change styles of running and expect longstanding functional problems to go away. I treat many runners and the problem comes down to misunderstanding why you hurt and the proper way to deal with it.

If you would like, you can post a video of you running on a treadmill from the front and the side of your entire body which can be quite telling. A good sports chiropractor who understands runners and can perform myofascial release can help. Also, have you considered wearing a minimalist shoe with an off the shelf orthotic such as superfeet or powerstep, which are two of the better brands.

Recently, I wrote this blog post that may offer some clues (http://www.backfixer1.com/blog/is-you-lower-back-problem-a-mattress-problem/, however, you will find my book quite helpful in understanding why you are having the problem, since it explains how bimechanics work in plan english and may lead you to finding the best solution.
 
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Hello William,
I have been reading through a study paper from 1997 showing a link between sciatica and Achilles tendon soreness and ruptures and I believe it describes what I am going through. I know it was not a running form issue as I have covered many thousands of km without an issue. These problems came on over the course of a year and have been most acute recently. I spent a week off work earlier in the year with a back injury and I believe this is directly connected with my tendon issues.
So, it seems I will have to get to the root cause of the sciatica before I can get back to the running. Maybe giving up my gym membership should be the first priority as it has led to repeated back problems over the years right from the very first time when I hurt it 20 years ago.
I am taking some Glucosamine at the moment to see if it will have any effect on the tendons but I know I will have to start core exercises to support the lower spine.

Regards

Neil