Eccentric calf drops - physical therapy

[Santi]

Hi All,

After months of a slight, but nagging Achilles pain I decided to take up the physical therapy regimen of eccentric calf drops. From the various sources I've found I planned out my regimen of 3 sets of 15 twice a day. (I started with 3 sets of ten, but moved up to 3x15 after 2 weeks).

I want to make sure that I'm getting as much as I can from this period of physical therapy, so I would appreciate any info. from people who have experience with it. Has anyone gone the full 12 weeks? What did you experience?

I'm in the middle of week 4 right now and I have noticed some improvement -- My Achilles Tendon does not get tender after riding my bike to work (about 2.5 leisurely miles).

I've been massaging a bit to keep my muscles loose and walking or riding my bike daily.

 

[Haselsmasher]

Are you working with a Physical Therapist or is this "12 week program" self-prescribed?

If things are improving - great. I've done and am doing eccentric calf drops not for AT - but just tight calves in general. They're working great. I'd also use a foam roller to help loosen up the calves in general. That's another major component of AT issues. Don't stretch. (I'm channeling Sock Doc here. As his great t-shirt says: Only Bozos Stretch. LOL.)

Jim

 

[Barefoot TJ]

All I got to say is don't stretch an injury. When you do, you are pulling apart the fibers and tissues trying to heal.

 

[joohneschuh]

I tried this exercise, too. Just to make sure we´re talking about the same please have a look at the pictures. The suggested training regimen is exactly the same here as you mentioned (3 times a day 15 reps for at least 12 weeks).

http://www.eccentrictraining.com/3.html

I would call this exercise eccentric calf drops & raises because it´s both.

What I always wondered about: The drops stretch the calfs and ATs pretty much. Sock Doc says: don´t stretch. On the other hand on this website which I mentioned above they claim to have tested the exercise with subjects who had AT problems (were already injured) (12 weeks, 3 x 15 reps per day). And they say the subjects improved a lot (much less pain) and effects were also measurable objectively (something like reduction of pathologically increased blood-flow in the related areas that are part of an inflammation).

What do you think? Seems contraticting to me.

 

[PB Junkie]

I tried the eccentric heel drops when my AT was at its worst. For me, the eccentric heel drops only served to aggravate my AT. Everyone is different though. I saw improvement in mine when I quit doing the heel drops, quit stretching and concentrated on foam rolling, both before and after exercise.

 

[jldeleon]

Interestingly I do these exercises, not for achilles pain though, but to increase strength in my arch. I can feel the effects all the way to my hip. I think they work great for that purpose.

 

[Santi]

Yes, Haselsmasher, this is self prescribed. I have been hesitant to see a doctor. I have not had good experience with doctors in the past, I often find that I can find out more about sports injuries online and in medical journals than at their office. As I mentioned, I noticed that I felt less pain after cycling, but I'm less than half-way through. I went contra dancing last weekend and that turned out to be too much for the tendon. I'm going to add 10% of my body weight for the next several weeks and do a few sets of droping a little quicker than my usual 4 seconds. I've also been massaging my leg, because I've had problems with tight muscles in the past. Other than that I try to walk 2 to 4 miles a day without shoes.

 

[Neil_D]

HI Santi,
I'm a big advocate of eccentric calf drops. They have saved me so many times in the past. Any time I get any niggling achilles pain I start on the 3 x 15 regime. They have not failed me yet.
They strengthen the calf muscle which helps stabilize the foot/ankle when you land. I find that when I do a lot of running in soft sand it needs a lot of ankle stability, any twisting and it causes my achilles to ache. I have not extended the program out to 3 months but I usually find after 3 weeks the pain (which usually only comes when I run) fades away. I've not had any achilles tendon problems for 2+ years.

Neil